Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to convey a message to Tehran that Israel does not intend to attack Iran. This is reported by the Israeli channel Kan with reference to diplomatic sources.
According to the interlocutors, Putin and Netanyahu have spoken on the phone several times recently amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
“Netanyahu asked Putin to assure Iran:” we will not attack them,” the Kan report said.
The last telephone conversation between the two leaders was reported by the Kremlin on 15 November. At that time, they discussed the Gaza ceasefire, Iran’s nuclear programme and the situation in Syria. A month earlier, Putin said that Russia was receiving signals from Israel that it was not interested in a confrontation with Iran.
As Kan notes, Israel fears that Tehran, believing a strike is imminent, may attack Israeli territory first. Netanyahu’s message through Moscow is aimed at preventing such a scenario.
Speaking in parliament on 5 January, the Israeli prime minister warned that any attack by Iran would have “serious consequences.” He also said that the positions of Israel and US President Donald Trump on Iran are broadly aligned.
“We will not allow Iran to resume ballistic missile production and, of course, to restore its nuclear programme,” Netanyahu stressed.
For his part, Putin emphasised Iran’s right to peaceful use of nuclear technology and said Moscow was ready to support this, calling US strikes on Iran in the summer of 2025 an unprovoked aggression.
The report of Netanyahu’s signal to Tehran came amid protests that continue in Iran