Russia is ready to mediate on Iran, and to accept Tehran's uranium, Kremlin says

Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow's previous proposal to store Iranian uranium in Russia remains on the table, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Tehran says it has the right to peaceful nuclear power, but its swiftly-advancing uranium enrichment programme has raised fears in the wider West and across the Gulf that it wants to develop a nuclear weapon.

The Kremlin's proposal includes Iran's enriched uranium potentially converted into civilian reactor fuel as a possible step to ease the crisis.

"This proposal remains on the table, it remains relevant. But, of course, with the outbreak of hostilities, the situation has become seriously complicated," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism on Sunday that peace would come soon and cited the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin could help.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday dismissed the suggestion that Russian President Vladimir Putin could mediate in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, citing Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

"I do not think that Russia, which is today engaged in a high-intensity conflict and has decided not to respect the United Nations charter for several years now, could be in any way a mediator." Macron told reporters on a trip to Greenland.

The EU on Monday also said Russia had "zero credibility" as a potential mediator, as EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni noted that "there has been a recent Russia-Iran partnership agreement, which signals deepening cooperation across multiple areas, including foreign policy and defence."

He added, "In light of such, Russia cannot be an objective mediator."

Russia, Peskov said, remained ready to mediate if needed, but he noted the root causes of the conflict needed to be addressed and eliminated - and that the military strikes were escalating the entire crisis to beyond serious levels.

"Russia remains ready to do everything necessary to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Peskov said. "But the situation is escalating more than seriously, and, of course, this is not affecting the situation for the better."

Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks to Fox News on Sunday that regime change in Iran could be a result of Israel's military attacks, Peskov said that the Kremlin had seen the remarks.

"You know that we condemn those actions that have led to such a dangerous escalation of tension in the region," Peskov said. "And secondly, we also note a significant consolidation of society in Iran against the background of the bombing that is currently being carried out by the Israeli side." 

Iran tells mediators it won't negotiate 'while under attack'

Mediators Qatar and Oman were told by Iran that Tehran "will not negotiate while under attack", an official briefed on the talks said Sunday, amid a massive exchange of strikes between Israel and the Islamic republic.

"The Iranians informed Qatari and Omani mediators that they will only pursue serious negotiations once Iran has completed its response to the Israeli pre-emptive strikes," the official told news agency AFP.

Iran had also made it "clear that it will not negotiate while under attack", the source added on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

The source said: "Reports Iran has approached Oman and Qatar with a request to engage the United States to broker a ceasefire with Israel and potentially renew nuclear negotiations are inaccurate."

A sixth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States planned for Sunday in Muscat was cancelled, Oman said.

The talks on Iran's nuclear programme began in April, with US President Donald Trump threatening military action if diplomacy failed.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Washington "had nothing to do" with Israel's bombing campaign.

But Trump also threatened to unleash "the full strength and might" of the US military if Iran attacked American interests, later urging Israel and Iran to "make a deal".

Iran sought US pressure on Israel for ceasefire via Gulf states

Tehran has asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press U.S. President Donald Trump to use his influence on Israel to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Iranian flexibility in nuclear negotiations, two Iranian and three regional sources told news agency Reuters on Monday.

Gulf leaders and their top diplomats worked the phones all weekend, speaking to each other, to Tehran, Washington and beyond in an effort to prevent a widening of the biggest ever confrontation between longstanding enemies Israel and Iran.

Iran is willing to be flexible in the nuclear talks if a ceasefire is reached, one of the Iranian sources said.

The Gulf states are deeply concerned the conflict will spin out of control, a Gulf source close to government officials told Reuters.

Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia have all appealed to Washington to press Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to resume talks with Tehran towards a nuclear deal, the Gulf source said.

A regional source and an official briefed on Iran's communications with the Gulf said Tehran had reached out to Qatar and Oman to mediate a return to nuclear talks, but insisted that a ceasefire with Israel be put in place first.