This is breaking news from Bloomberg.
Now to a story that just crossed the Bloomberg terminal moments ago on a red headline. Russia agreeing to assist the Trump administration in communications with Iran on issues including its nuclear program and support for regional proxies opposed to the US were told the President relayed that interest directly in a phone call last month to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Goldnar multi Vali heads Bloomberg's Iran coverage and broke this story.
Goldnar is here with us now get us up to speed on just what we have learned about this phone call, which, interestingly, according to your reporting Golnar came before US and Russian negotiators met in Saudi Arabia last month.
Is that right?
Yes?
So this was also helped by our colleagues who are covering Russia very closely and people that who they spoke with based in Moscow.
VISA story is said that during the US first round of talks with Russian counterparts in Riad, there was apparently an ask from on behalf of.
The Trump administration for President Putin's government to get involved on some level with President Trump's desire or stated interest in broker in some kind of nuclear agreement with Iran, and apparently this request.
Was then also repeated during a meeting between Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and his Iranian counterpart at boss Arachi when he then subsequently flew to Tehran for bilateral talks.
So the crux of.
The story is that President Donald Trump wants putin help on some level to broke engagement with Iran with a view to then securing a new nuclear agreement. But the agreement.
Apparently won't just cover Iran's nuclear program, which is what the Obama.
Administration had already broken in broken in twenty fifteen, but as we know, Trump exited in twenty eighteen and effectively.
Jettison But he wants he wants a deal that also in.
Some way covers.
Iran's support for its allied groups such.
As Hamas and Hezbola in.
The Middle East, and this is something.
That would be you know, it would be a major development in the ongoing saga that is Iran and US relations. But the background to this, obviously is that crucially Trump has sending some mixed messages on what he wants to do.
With Iran, because we know obviously, on.
The day that he signed his directive revising that maximum pressure strategy on Iran and broadening sanctions on its oil industry within hours, he also said that he would on history to social website, he said that he was very much interested.
In a nuclear deal with Iran and he wants those talks to happen quote quote unquote immediately. So there's a lot going on here with this story.
Do we have any indication, Golnar, about how Israel might feel about a development like this, because haven't Russia and Iran increased cooperation over the last several years, Yes.
They have. That's another another crucial lay to this, and it's a great it's a great question because since Russia's started its invasion of Ukraine, the relationship between Tehran and Mosco has deepened and broadened significantly. They are two of the most.
Sanctioned countries in the world.
So they're the two most countries by the US Treasury, and that has kind of brought them closer together. They're doing much more trade, they're doing more bart agreements together. Since since the Putin Putin's invasion of Ukraine started, they're also they've also signed agreements to start trades corridors, the kind of very ambitious project to develop a very a substantial trade corridor linking the Caspian Sea to the Northern.
Indian Ocean using Iran as.
The as the throughway.
Lots going on there, and of course Iran's military supports purported military support of Moscow in the shape of thousands of Iranian cheaply made Iranian drones. That's another dimension to this.
And as you said, Iran is de facto in a locked in a shadow wall with Israel that it's said that it's and the continue fighting, especially in light of the Hamas attacks on Israel in October seventh and the subsequent Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip and southern Hezbola targeting sorry, southern Ebanon targeting Hezbola and Hamas. So that's
also possibly a play here. It's going to be interesting to see how Trump squares that circle his kind of extremely close and sort of unconditional support for Israel with his desire to, according to what he said on his truth social.
Account, to have a verified.
Nuclear peace agreement with Iran that doesn't involve any kind of military confrontation with Iran.
Thank you for this Golnar Monti Valia Bloomberg News, leading our Iran coverage on the breaking news this morning, the President Trump asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to get involved in talks with Iran on its nuclear program and support for regional PROCs.
He's, Golnar, thank you for this. We want to get more reaction.
Now.
We're joined by Wendy Schiller, director of the Alfred Taubin Center for Politics and Policy at Brown University. And Wendy, this news of President Trump's call with Putin is coming on top of the President halting military aid to Ukraine until we're told President Vladimir Zelenski shows that he's committed to peace.
Your reaction to all these developments this morning.
Well, Trump is disrupting again and disrupting the world order again. But this, you know, this is not that unpredictable. You know, when he undid the Iran deal, he kept saying, this is a bad deal. You know, we struck a bad deal. We didn't get enough for it. There isn't enough reassurance. Plus it was it prior President Obama, and he wants to undo it and do it again, similar to what he did with NAFTA and renegotiated that and retitled it. You know, this is a guy that wants to get
done things that prior presidents didn't do. We know that approal rams import in him, but we also know that he wants to be seen as an effective president. It's driving his everything he's trying to do. People may disagree with what he's doing, but this is what he wants to do. So if he can manage I mean, Iran's pretty close. You know, I'm non nuclear expert, but they
have gotten closer to getting a nuclear bomb. So if he can prevent that somehow and reduce some of Iranian's energy and support for terrorist groups, he will claim credit for that. And he wants to build a record. Whether he wants to be president again, we don't know, but he wants to do what other presidents have not been able to do, and he sees Russia as a potential
ally to get that done. Whether that's a reliable ally for US in all measures and Russia and Iran, these sanctions, you know, we can argue whether they matter or they don't, they hurt Russia or they don't, but certainly economically they get in the way, and so I think both Russia and Aron would like to see these sanctions reduced or eliminated somehow. Trump will try to claim that he's not doing that, but obviously that's going to have to be on the table if there's any new agreement.
Is this closer to you full US realignment with Russia.
I don't think anybody should jump the gun on that. Trump is not someone who aligns with anybody but Trump. This is the way he rolls this. He's been very candid about this. Trump does what Trump thinks is in Trump's best interest, and right now as president, he's making the argument that these are all things that are in the United States interest. So whether he's looking for some long standing alliance or not, whether you know we're trying to balance against China, you know, we have no idea.
Normally would say, oh, this is part of some grand strategy, but it's not. It's Trump being able to broke or deals. He loves to do that, walk away and claim a win, and he's doing that across the board. And right now he doesn't see the utility in making Russia the enemy. He doesn't see the utility in basically paying US weapons and manufacturers by the way get to make weapons for Ukraine and getting nothing for the d He wants something
from Ukraine. He's trying to get some stake in minerals and national resources in Ukraine, which might prove to be a bullwark against further Russia incursion in Ukraine if the United States has a vested steak in their territory. So this is the way he thinks, and it's on brand for him. We're going to see if he explains it or talks about it tonight. In his joint.
Address, the President did say on true Social He's going to tell it like it is tonight before Congress. What will you be listening for this evening and reaction from Democrats, Well, I.
Mean, you know, basically, I'm not planning to listen to anything in particular because I never know what Donald Trump's going to say. But this will be about again, how he will negotiate deals that are in a better favor of the United States, how he is already prom he's already doing what he promised to do, and that he's going to basically be It's a campaign speech and you're going to see a lot of Republican unity. This is
what this is. This is a show. And this is also the President reminding the Republican Party that he won, that he brought them in, that they owe him and they should stick with him. And this is a public display for that reason, going into very difficult I think tax cut and debt ceiling and budget negotiations in the next couple.
Of weeks, I really appreciate the perspective ahead of that address nine pm.
Wall Street Time on Capitol Hill.
Our coverage begins at eight on a special edition of Bloomberg Balance of Power on Bloomberg Radio, Television and the Bloomberg Podcast YouTube page. Wendy Schiller ahead of all that with us this morning, head of the Alfred Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy at Brown University,