Trump, Putin on same page about Iran’s nuclear weapon capabilities, White House says

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are in sync when it comes to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, according to the White House. 

Trump and Putin, who spoke over the phone Tuesday morning about how to draw an end to the war in Ukraine, agreed that Iran must not obtain access to weapons permitting Tehran to obliterate Israel, the White House said. 

'The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts,' the White House said in a statement after the call. 'They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel.'

Meanwhile, Russia is urging the U.S. to loosen its sanctions on Iran, which have crippled Tehran’s economy. Representatives from Russia met with Chinese and Iranian counterparts in Beijing Friday, and pressed the U.S. to withdraw the 'unlawful' sanctions and resume nuclear discussions, according to a statement from the three countries. 

'The three countries reiterated that political and diplomatic engagement and dialogue based on the principle of mutual respect remains the only viable and practical option in this regard,' China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read aloud in a joint statement Friday. 

Russia has maintained a cozy relationship with Iran and has utilized Iranian drones in the war against Ukraine. For example, Russia started to employ the Iranian-made Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 series drones in 2022 to hit Ukrainian artillery targets and areas of Ukraine’s electricity distribution grid, according to the nonprofit organization Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 

The Defense Intelligence Agency also released a report in 2023 detailing how Iran had given Russia access to 'hundreds' of one-way attack air drones. Although Iran denied that the drones originated from Tehran, the Defense Intelligence Agency said it obtained debris from attacks in Ukraine that 'clearly prove Iran's support to Russia.' 

Trump cautioned in February he believed that Iran was 'close' to developing a nuclear weapon, and his administration reinstated a maximum pressure campaign against Iran through sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports in February. 

Additionally, Trump revealed March 7 that a nuclear deal with Iran could emerge in the near future and that he sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging Tehran to agree to a nuclear agreement. 

Failure to do so could mean military intervention, he said. 

'I would rather negotiate a deal,' Trump told Fox Business in an interview March 9. 'I'm not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily.' 

'But the time is happening now, the time is coming up,' he said. 'Something is going to happen one way or the other. I hope that Iran, and I've written them a letter saying I hope you're going to negotiate, because if we have to go in militarily, it's going to be a terrible thing for them.'

The Associated Press contributed to this report.