Why is Putin pushing Tehran towards Trump’s nuclear deal?

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1. ***From The Times:***

   As an old ally of Iran, the Kremlin’s position has long been that the regime has the right to develop nuclear energy, while acknowledging that Tehran’s race for a bomb should be curtailed.

   So reports this weekend that Russia is leaning on Iran to accept a deal that denies it the right to enrich uranium for any purpose have provoked a typically caustic response from Moscow.

   Any suggestion that President Putin hoped to pressure Tehran into such a nuclear deal with the United States, said Russia’s foreign ministry on Sunday, was part of a “dirty, politicised campaign, which is being hatched with the aim of escalating tension around the Iranian nuclear programme”.

   Moscow’s protests, however, may hide a more subtle approach than it wants to admit.

   Sources familiar with the discussions told Axios that Putin had informed President Trump and Iranian officials that he supported the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium.

   So far, the Iranians appear to have rejected Putin’s overture, but the claims suggest that the Kremlin’s strategy on any nuclear deal is more nuanced than it is prepared to let on. Russia and Iran have a long-standing bond, and their forces cooperated for years in Syria in support of President Assad, before his regime collapsed in December

2. Russia is strapped and can’t handle helping Iran. It solves a thorn in the Kremlin’s side temporarily.

3. Quid pro quo.

   I help u in Iran, you help me in Europe.

4. Because Putin doesn’t want to “concede” anything less than occupation of all the regions added to russian “constitution” in 2022 and full Ukrainian capitulation with de-armament. He wants to trade “persuasion” of iranians to Ukraine.

5. If Russia pushes Iran towards accepting Trumps nuclear plan, then it’ll win Putin massive points with Trump. He’s then far less likely to put pressure on Putin over Ukraine.

   Iran is just a pawn in a much bigger game.

6. Russia uses Iranian manufactured drones. They also have very little of influence left in the middle east. If Irans current administration falls, Russia has pretty much nothing there of influence and thats not good for an oil producing country

7. He is trying to curry favour with Trump. He helps with Iran and Trump helps him with the peace in Ukraine and lifting of sanctions.

8. Didn’t Russia denied Putin pushing zero enrichment plan on Iran?

9. Because nuclear powers pay big bucks for their nukes, but the main benefit of nukes is their *exclusivity*. Russia has power over Iran and Iran doesn’t have power over Russia, but that all changes once Iran gets nukes.

   Plus, there’s the team-up problem. Pretend its the 1980s, for a sec: Russia, China, and the US all have nukes. Russia fears that China will team up with the US to nuke all of Russia’s missile silos before Russia can retaliate (incidentally this is also true for China and the US). So even though China is notionally an ally, Russia would benefit in some way if China had fewer nukes.

   The same logic applies to Russia: if Iran gets nukes, what prevents a mutually-beneficial NATO/Iran team-up from grabbing Russia by the balls?

10. I think it’s a bit more direct than that – no one trusts a theocratic regime with nukes.

11. Russia buys Iranian oil and drones so further conflict would be to their disadvantage. Putin knows Trump and Israel have the upper hand after the attacks so he is suggesting the only thing a non insane person would do.

12. Because nuclear-proliferation is bad for everyone. Also, Russia and Iran are NOT allies—they are both revisionist states against the US-led liberal world order, but they have no significant, formal pacts.

13. Because if they don’t they will not have functional Arctic ports to ship LNG to China from

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