Overview
- Putin and Mohammed bin Salman held a call that pressed for an immediate halt to fighting and stepped-up diplomacy, voiced concern over civilian deaths and damaged infrastructure, and backed joint OPEC+ steps to calm oil prices and protect traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
- In Moscow talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egypt’s Badr Abdelatty aligned on an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to political talks, with Cairo sharing its role shuttling between U.S. and Iranian channels.
- Lavrov warned that a Bahrain-backed UN Security Council draft on “safety of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz would likely undercut peace efforts and could be used against Iran.
- The Kremlin said Putin also spoke with Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan about the fast-changing situation, as Moscow signaled it is ready to mediate if all parties accept the role.
- The diplomatic push follows reports that the United States and Israel struck Iran on February 28, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which triggered Iranian reprisals across the Gulf and disruptions to the narrow Hormuz waterway that carries a large share of the world’s seaborne oil.