With its long-standing good relations with both Tel Aviv and Tehran, the outbreak of war in the Middle East has put Moscow in a delicate position, but it has also been presented it with the opportunity to act as peacemaker and weaken the West’s support for Ukraine in the process.

Russia has always enjoyed cordial relations with Israel, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told bne IntelliNews, which is wary of its strong ties in the Arab world and mindful of the large ethnic Russian minority living in Israel. At the same time, sanctions have enhanced relations between Iran and Russia, which has become a major source of weapons and trade for the Putin regime in its military campaign in Ukraine.

Following Israel’s military strikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities over the weekend, which killed top generals and scientists, and Tehran’s retaliatory drone and missile strikes, Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering to help de-escalate the conflict.

The Israeli strikes, which targeted Iran’s Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites among others, have intensified the already volatile regional tensions. Israel claimed the attacks had eliminated over 20 commanders and nine senior scientists, though Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported only three scientists – Ali Bakaei Karimi, Mansour Asgari, and Saeid Borji – were killed. Some Iranian cruise missiles, fired in retaliation, have penetrated Israel’s “Iron Dome” defences and done significant damage to several cities, killing a reported seven people and injuring dozens more.

Russia´s Foreign Ministry issued a strongly worded statement on June 13 condemning the Israeli strikes as "categorically unacceptable" and warning that "all the consequences of this provocation will fall on the Israeli leadership." It urged both parties "to exercise restraint in order to prevent further escalation of tensions and keep the region from sliding into a full-scale war."

In a Kremlin readout of Putin’s call with Netanyahu, the Russian leader “emphasised the importance of returning to the negotiation process and resolving all issues related to the Iranian nuclear programme exclusively through political and diplomatic means,” while offering his mediation “in order to prevent further escalation of tensions.”

The Kremlin added, “It was agreed that the Russian side will continue close contacts with the leadership of both Iran and Israel, aimed at resolving the current situation, which is fraught with the most disastrous consequences for the entire region.”

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev has said that Russia could play a key role in mediating the conflict between Iran and Israel. The head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund has extensive contacts in the Middle East and has personally pioneered deepening economic and investment relations with many of the leaders in the Middle East, where he is very well received.

Russia could play a key role in mediating the Iranian-Israeli conflict, Dmitriev said on the social network X, commenting on US President Donald Trump's interview with ABC News.

US President Donald Trump said he is open to possible mediation by Russian President Vladimir Putin in resolving the conflict between Iran and Israel.

"He's ready. He called me about it. We talked about it at length," Trump told ABC News.

According to him, Washington could also “intervene” in the conflict, but now the US is “not involved.”

Iran is ready to conclude an agreement aimed at preventing to acquire nuclear weapons, but will not accept conditions that limit the republic’s legitimate rights to develop peaceful nuclear energy, said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

"We are ready for any agreement aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. However, if the purpose of the agreement is to deprive Iran of its legitimate rights [to develop a peaceful atom], then we are not ready for such an agreement," the minister said.

Araqchi added that in the sixth round of nuclear negotiations with the United States, Tehran "was going to present its own proposal." According to him, it could "open the way to reaching an agreement." After several attempts to reach a new agreement, the negotiations hit a deadlock over disagreements on uranium enrichment. The sixth round had been scheduled for June 15 in Oman, but after the Israeli attack on Iran it was cancelled.

Following the conversation with Putin, Trump reported that much less time was devoted to discussing the situation in Ukraine; this issue was postponed until next week.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow has built a robust political, economic, and cultural relationship with Israel, underpinned by Putin’s personal ties with Netanyahu, who frequently visited Russia before the Ukraine conflict. This relationship weathered a significant test in 2018 when Syrian forces, responding to an Israeli airstrike, shot down a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft, killing all 15 aboard. Despite such incidents, Russia has shown sensitivity to Israeli concerns, notably by delaying deliveries of advanced Su-35 fighter jets to Iran, which Tehran seeks to modernise its ageing air force. Israel, in turn, has appeared to reciprocate by limiting its military support for Ukraine in the ongoing war. Israel is notable by its absence from the international aid and has sent no arms nor financial support to Ukraine in the three years of the conflict.

Concurrently, Russia’s ties with Iran have deepened since 1991, when Moscow became a key trade partner and arms supplier amid international sanctions on Tehran. Russia constructed Iran’s first nuclear power plant (NPP) in Bushehr, operational since 2013, and was a signatory to the 2015 nuclear deal, offering political support when the US withdrew during Donald Trump’s first term. In Syria, Russia provided the Bashar Assad’s regime with military support in cooperation with Tehran, though they could not prevent its collapse in December 2024. More recently, in January 2025, Putin and Pezeshkian signed a 20 year “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty, envisioning closer political, economic and military cooperation.

The current crisis offers Russia a real strategic opportunity to build on these relations and enhance its already strong reputation in the region as an “honest broker.” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov recently suggested that Russia could take highly enriched uranium from Iran and convert it into civilian reactor fuel as part of a potential US-Iran agreement. While prospects for such a deal appear dim following Israel’s strikes, “if talks resume, Russia’s offer could emerge as a pivotal component of an agreement,” analysts note. Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, stressed Russia’s readiness to mediate, stating that the Kremlin leader had proposed steps “aimed at finding mutually acceptable agreements” during US-Iran nuclear talks.

Some Moscow observers see additional strategic benefits. “The focus on the confrontation between Israel and Iran could distract global attention from the war in Ukraine and play into Russia’s hands by potentially weakening Western support for Kyiv,” they argue. Putin’s recent discussions with Trump, addressing Middle East tensions, further underscore Moscow’s intent to pivot from Ukraine and engage Washington on broader global issues.

However, Russia’s balancing act is fraught with challenges. Moscow’s supply of S-300 air defence systems to Iran, which Israel claims were destroyed in last year’s strikes, highlights the tightrope it walks. Any misstep could strain ties with either Israel or Iran, undermining Russia’s aspirations to broker peace. And there are already unconfirmed reports that both China and Russia are sending military supplies to Tehran to bolster its arsenal as a full scale war gets underway.

The downside of the outbreak of war between Iran and Israel is that Tehran may accelerate plans to develop a nuclear weapon. Ebrahim Rezai, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Mejlis (unicameral Parliament) of Iran, called on the republic’s government to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on June 15 as a prelude to developing a bomb.

"Now is the time to withdraw from the NPT," the Iranian Fars news agency quoted him as saying.

"This agreement was supposed to ensure our security, and not become the reason for its absence," Rezai said, without specifying whether the Mejlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy had prepared any official document on the issue.

Iran began developing its nuclear programme in the 1950s during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, with the support of the United States. In 1958, the country became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in 1968, Tehran signed the NPT, which was ratified in 1970.