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Russia Says It Welcomes Trump's Readiness to Solve Problems through Dialogue

File photo: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia December 7, 2023. Sergei Bobylev, Reuters via Sputnik
File photo: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia December 7, 2023. Sergei Bobylev, Reuters via Sputnik
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Russia Says It Welcomes Trump's Readiness to Solve Problems through Dialogue

File photo: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia December 7, 2023. Sergei Bobylev, Reuters via Sputnik
File photo: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow, Russia December 7, 2023. Sergei Bobylev, Reuters via Sputnik

Russia welcomes the stated willingness of US President-elect Donald Trump to resolve problems through dialogue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, reaffirming Russian President Vladimir Putin's readiness for talks with Trump.
There may be progress on setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin after Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20, Peskov told reporters. Trump said on Thursday a meeting was being set up between him and Putin, but offered no timeline.
Trump said repeatedly during his election campaign that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours, but he and advisers have suggested more recently that it could be resolved within months of him taking office.
His impending return to the White House has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution, but it has also led to fears in Kyiv that a quick peace deal could come at a high price for Ukraine.
Peskov said Putin had repeatedly stated his willingness to hold talks with international leaders, including Trump.
"No conditions are required for this, (only) a mutual desire and political will to conduct a dialogue and resolve existing problems through dialogue is required," he said.
"We see that Mr. Trump also declares his readiness to resolve problems through dialogue, we welcome this."
Peskov said there were no specific plans for a meeting yet, but that Russia was working on the assumption that both sides were open to it. "Apparently, after Mr. Trump enters the Oval Office, there will be some movement."
Trump said on Thursday: "President Putin wants to meet. He has said that even publicly and we have to get that war over with. That's a bloody mess."
Advisers to Trump have floated proposals to end the war that would effectively cede large parts of the country to Russia for the foreseeable future.
Peskov said Russia's position was consistent as laid out by Putin last June. Putin said then that Russia was willing to end the war if Ukraine renounced its NATO membership ambitions and withdrew entirely from four regions that Russia partly controls and has claimed as its own.
Kyiv rejected that as tantamount to surrender.
While speaking positively of Trump, Peskov was highly critical of outgoing President Joe Biden.
He said the Biden administration, in its final 10 days, "intends to continue doing everything to continue the war", including possible new sanctions against Russia.
"We are aware that the administration will certainly try to leave the most burdensome legacy in terms of bilateral relations for the incoming Trump and his associates," said Peskov.

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Transport Minister: Türkiye-operated Oil Tanker Attacked in Black Sea

Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
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Transport Minister: Türkiye-operated Oil Tanker Attacked in Black Sea

Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik
Altura, a Turkish-owned crude oil tanker, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik

A Turkish-operated oil tanker was attacked early Thursday in the Black Sea, possibly by an unmanned surface vehicle, Türkiye's transport minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.

"I can say that a foreign-flagged ship operated by a Turkish company, which had loaded crude oil from Russia, reported an explosion in its engine room after midnight to our emergency call center," the minister said in a televised interview.

"We believe that the engine room was specifically targeted. We think the attack was not carried out by a drone, but by an unmanned surface vehicle at water level."

The minister would not specify if the attack on the Sierra Leone-flagged tanker happened in Turkish waters but local media reported that it took place less than 30 kilometers from the Bosphorus strait.

"It appears to be an externally caused explosion, particularly directed at the engine room, with the aim of completely disabling the ship," Uraloglu said.

"We have sent the necessary units to the scene and are monitoring the situation," he added.

In December, Türkiye witnessed a series of security incidents linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warning against the Black Sea becoming an "area of confrontation" between the warring parties.

Türkiye, whose northern shore faces Ukraine and annexed Crimea, has maintained close ties with both Kyiv and Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

World

Australia Bans Visitors from Iran

Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
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Australia Bans Visitors from Iran

Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Commuters walk past Wynyard Station in Sydney, Australia, March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Hollie Adams

Australia banned visitors from Iran on Thursday, saying war in the Middle East increased the risk they would refuse to fly home once their short-term visas expired.

For the next six months people travelling on Iranian passports will be barred from visiting Australia for tourism or work, the Home Affairs department said.

"The conflict in Iran has increased the risk that some temporary visa holders may be unable or unlikely to depart Australia when their visas expire," it said in a statement.

Some exceptions would be made on a case-by-case basis, the department added, such as for the parents of Australian citizens.

"There are many visitor visas which were issued before the conflict in Iran which may not have been issued if they were applied for now," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

"Decisions about permanent stays in Australia should be deliberate decisions of the government, not a random consequence of who booked a holiday."

More than 85,000 Australian residents were born in Iran, according to government figures, with vibrant diaspora communities found in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.

Australia angered Iran this month when it granted asylum to seven players and officials from the visiting women's football team.

The players were branded "traitors" at home after refusing to sing the national anthem before an Asian Cup match -- a gesture seen as an act of defiance against the Iranian republic.

Five of those seven later reversed their decisions to seek sanctuary in Australia, fueling suspicions their families had come under threat.

World

Iran and the US Harden their Positions as Tehran Keeps Its Grip on the Strait of Hormuz

FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
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Iran and the US Harden their Positions as Tehran Keeps Its Grip on the Strait of Hormuz

FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
FILE - A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Iran and the United States hardened their positions as diplomacy aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the war in the Middle East appeared to be faltering on Thursday. Tehran moved to formalize its control over the crucial Strait of Hormuz while Washington prepared for the arrival of US combat forces in the region that could be used on the ground in the Iranian Republic.

Iran is instituting a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime,” industry experts say, with some ships paying in Chinese yuan to pass through the strait, where 20% of all traded oil and natural gas is transported in peacetime.

Meanwhile, a strike group anchored by the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli drew closer to the Mideast with some 2,500 Marines. Also, at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne have been ordered to the region, The Associated Press said.

The troop movements don’t guarantee US President Donald Trump will try to use force to compel Iran to open the strait and halt its attacks on Gulf Arab states.

Trump previously deployed a large force in the Caribbean before the American military captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January. In the current situation, the US is seen as focused on possibly seizing Iran’s oil terminal at Kharg Island or other sites near the strait.

US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands the American military in the region, said his forces have hit more than 10,000 targets since Israel and the US started the war Feb. 28, destroying 92% of Iran's largest ships and more than two-thirds of the country's missile, drone and naval production facilities.

“We’re not done yet,” said Cooper, who heads the US Central Command, in a video message. “We are on a path to completely eliminate Iran’s wider military apparatus.”

Iran seen as operating Strait of Hormuz as ‘de facto toll booth’

With its stranglehold on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Arabian Gulf toward the open ocean, Iran has been blocking ships it perceives as linked to the US and Israeli war effort, but letting through a trickle of others.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies, both close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, quoted lawmaker Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi as saying that parliament was working to formalize the process of charging fees to let ships pass.

“We provide its security, and it is natural that ships and oil tankers should pay such fees,” he was quoted as saying.

Lloyd’s List Intelligence called it a “de facto ‘toll booth’ regime.”

The shipping intelligence firm said vessels have to provide manifests, crew details and their destination to Iran’s Guard for sanctions screening, cargo alignment checks that currently prioritizes oil over all other commodities, and for what is described as ‘geopolitical vetting.’”

“While not all ships are paying a direct toll, at least two vessels have and the payment is settled in yuan,” Lloyd’s List said, referring to China’s currency.

Iran's grip on the strait and relentless attacks on Gulf regional energy infrastructure has sent oil prices skyrocketing and concerns of a global energy crisis surging. Brent crude, the international standard, traded at US$104 early Thursday, up more than 40% from the day the war started.

“To make it crystal clear, this war is a catastrophe for world's economies,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters during a visit to Australia.

US maintains negotiations are ongoing but Iran says there are no talks

Using Pakistan as an intermediary, Washington has delivered to Iran a 15-point ceasefire proposal, which includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump, speaking at a fundraiser Wednesday night in Washington, insisted that Iran still wants to cut a deal.

“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” Trump said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview on state TV, however, that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”

Araghchi said the US had tried to send messages to Iran through other nations, “but that is not a conversation nor a negotiation.”

Press TV, the English-language broadcaster on Iranian state television, said Iran has its own five-point proposal, which includes “sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”

A wave of Israeli airstrikes hits as Iran fires on Gulf neighbors

Israel said it carried out a wave of attacks early on Thursday targeting Iranian infrastructure, and air defenses were heard in Tehran, while heavy strikes were also reported around Isfahan, a city some 330 kilometers (205 miles) south of the Iranian capital.

Ifahan is home to a major Iranian air base and other military sites, as well as one of the nuclear sites bombed by the US during the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June.

Sirens sounded very early on Thursday morning in parts of Tel Aviv and cities in central Israel. Rescue workers said two people were injured in a blast in Kfar Qasim.

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said it intercepted multiple drones over its oil-rich Eastern Province, the United Arab Emirates' air defenses also worked to intercept incoming fire, and Bahrain reported extinguishing a blaze in a neighborhood that is home to the Bahrain International Airport.

Since the war began, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Iran, its Health Ministry says. Twenty people have been killed in Israel; two Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. At least 13 US military members have been killed. More than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states have also died.

Nearly 1,100 people have died in Lebanon, authorities said. In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militant groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have been killed.