Vladimir Putin calls Russia loyal friend, reliable partner of Iran one day after it reportedly offers to throw Tehran under the bus

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was a “loyal friend” of Iran Saturday, and offered the embattled republic strength as it fights off US and Israeli attacks.“Vladimir Putin wished the Iranian people strength in overcoming these severe trials and emphasized that during this difficult time, Moscow remained a loyal friend and reliable partner of Tehran,” the Kremlin said in a public message to congratulate Iranians on the Persian New Year — known as Norwuz — Friday.The strongman’s remarks are one of the first public shows of support for the Iranian regime since the war in Iran broke three weeks ago with airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.The comments also come a day after the Kremlin said it was ready to stop sharing intelligence with Tehran — if the US would agree to cut off Ukraine.The offer to apparently throw its Middle Eastern ally under the bus was made by Russian Envoy Kirill Dmitriev to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner during their meeting last week in Florida, two people familiar with the talks told Politico.The Kremlin has been providing Tehran locations of US military assets in the Middle East since the start of the war in Iran.

In exchange, it wanted Washington to stop supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia.The quid pro quo was reportedly shot down by President Trump, although Dmitriev claimed the report was “fake” in a post on X.It’s not the first bizarre proposal Putin has put forward regarding Iran.Putin personally told Trump during a call last week that he was willing to move Iran’s highly enriched uranium to Russia as a way to supposedly de-escalate the situation, according to Axios.The proposal was swiftly rejected by the US....