Russian President Vladimir Putin during a ceremony in Moscow, Russia, January 15, 2026. RAMIL SITDIKOV / AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, January 16, held calls with the leaders of Israel and Iran, the Kremlin said, offering mediation amid protests in Iran that have raised fears of a military confrontation in the region.
Independent monitors say Iranian security forces have killed thousands in a forceful response to nationwide anti-government protests – a crackdown that prompted threats of military action by the United States, Israel’s key ally.
Iran has repeatedly accused the US and Israel of inciting the unrest and trying to undermine the Islamic Republic’s national unity. Iran and Israel fought a brief war in June that saw unprecedented Israeli attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. The US had briefly joined those strikes, hitting three major Iranian nuclear sites.
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On Friday, Russia announced Putin was in contact with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a bid to cool tensions between the two rivals. “The situation in the region is highly tense, and the president continues his efforts to facilitate de-escalation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
‘Strategic partnership’
In his call with Pezeshkian, Putin pledged to further strengthen their countries’ “strategic partnership,” the Kremlin said. Pezeshkian meanwhile thanked Putin for Russia’s support for Iran at the United Nations, the Iranian presidency said. Russia is a strategic partner of Iran and wary of any conflict that could threaten the country’s pro-Moscow leadership, further diminishing its influence in the region.
But the call marks the first time Putin has commented on the situation in Iran and the first public outreach to its key Middle Eastern ally since the protests erupted. Russia has also strived for good relations with Israel, though those ties became strained amid Russian criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
In a call with Israel’s Netanyahu on Friday, the Kremlin said Russia had expressed its “readiness to continue its mediation efforts.” It did not clarify what current efforts were being undertaken. Moscow had previously offered mediation during the June war.
Netanyahu said Sunday that he hoped Iran would soon be freed from what he described as the “yoke of tyranny,” amid the protests. However, the rallies appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet blackout.
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