Updated April 27, 2026 at 4:07 PM EDT
Iran's foreign minister on Monday arrived in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin praised the Iranians as brave heroes and pledged to help establish peace in the Middle East, according to Russian and Iranian state media.
The visit comes as countries meeting at the United Nations again called to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and as the Trump administration discussed the latest Iranian proposal for the U.S.
It follows a whirlwind weekend of diplomacy, with Iran seeking to gain political leverage and foreign backing as talks with the U.S. remain on hold.
But missing from this diplomatic flurry is any sign of a meeting between Washington and Tehran.
While meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in St. Petersburg, Russia, Putin said he received a message last week from Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, according to Russia's state news agency Tass and Iran's semiofficial Fars, without detailing what the message said. Putin told Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being," Tass said.
The Trump administration says that Khamenei was injured early in the joint military campaign launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28.
The Iranian people are fighting "courageously and heroically" for their sovereignty, Tass quoted Putin as saying.
Last week, the Iranian foreign minister visited Islamabad and President Trump said he would send a team there for talks. But Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday and Trump canceled the U.S. delegation's trip.
Araghchi then went to Oman — which is situated directly across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran — and met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al and the Omani foreign minister.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key shipping passage where about one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas, as well as other goods, transited before the war. But traffic is largely at a standstill, as Iran tries to exert control over the strait and the U.S. imposes a naval blockade on Iranian ports, deepening a global energy crisis.
As the only countries with shorelines along the Strait of Hormuz, "our focus included ways to ensure safe transit that is to benefit of all dear neighbors and the world," Araghchi said on social media of his meetings in Oman. "Our neighbors are our priority."
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said he and Araghchi had a good discussion on the Strait of Hormuz. As coastal states, "we recognize our shared responsibility to the international community and the urgent humanitarian need to free the seafarers held for far too long," he wrote. "Much diplomacy is required and practical solutions to ensure lasting freedom of navigation."
Araghchi also spoke by phone with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt.
From Oman, he ping-ponged back to Pakistan on Sunday, and then on Monday Araghchi arrived in Russia.
Here are further developments in the Middle East conflict:
Iran proposal | U.N. on Strait of Hormuz | Israel-Hezbollah
Who has "the cards"?
President Trump on Monday met with his national security team and discussed the latest Iranian proposal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Iran and the U.S. have not made public the terms of the proposal. According to The Associated Press, Iran is offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. ending its naval blockade, but it wants to postpone nuclear negotiations for a later stage. NPR has not confirmed details of the proposal.
Asked by a reporter if Trump would agree to that kind of phased negotiation, Leavitt replied, "Well only because it's been reported, I will confirm that the president has met with his national security team this morning" and said "the proposal was being discussed."
"I wouldn't say they're considering it, I would just say that there was a discussion this morning," Leavitt added. She said Trump's "red lines" have been made very clear. Trump has repeatedly said the complete eradication of Iran's atomic program is the key U.S. demand.
Over the weekend, Trump said: "We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us."
Iran's parliamentary speaker, who led the Iranian delegation in the Islamabad talks with the U.S. earlier this month, took to social media to challenge Trump's comments.
"They brag about the cards. Let's see," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on social media. He then presented a complicated supply and demand equation that he intended to show the economic challenges faced by the U.S.
But Iran is also facing a U.S. naval blockade on its ports. Trump told Fox News on Sunday Iran has just three days of storage left before its oil pipelines explode from pressure, since it's running out of ships to store it on.
Asked about that timeline, Amena Bakr, the head of Middle East energy at research firm Kpler, told NPR that while Iran is running out of storage, it's closer to 20 days at current production levels.
Bakr also said Iran has a southern terminal outside the Strait of Hormuz that could be used for rerouting oil, provided they can get their ships there and bypass the U.S. blockade.
U.N. meeting calls to "let ships pass" Strait of Hormuz
Bahrain chaired a high-level meeting at the United Nations on maritime security, and used the event to call on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
"We are already seeing global consequences from Iranian actions which are impeding international shipping and driving up costs and sending shockwaves through energy markets," Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani said.
He was surrounded by dozens of ambassadors — including U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz — to show a united front against Iran.
The statement by Zayani's statement did not mention the U.S. role in blockading Iranian ports.
Waltz said the Strait of Hormuz is too important to the global economy to be choked off or attacked by "two-bit pirates."
"This strait is not Iran's to wield like its own moat and drawbridge," Waltz said. "It is not Iran's hostage. It is not Iran's bargaining chip. It is not Iran's toll road."
Russia's ambassador said it is not pirates threatening maritime security but Western countries, with what he called their "lawless" actions, including sanctions and seizing vessels.
China's ambassador said the root cause of the blocked Strait of Hormuz is what he said were illegal military actions by the U.S. and Israel against Iran.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said his office is ready to help the warring parties reach an agreement to reopen the strait.
"Let ships pass. No tolls. No discrimination," he said. "Let trade resume. Let the global economy breathe."
Israel and Hezbollah keep up attacks in Lebanon
The Israeli military continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon Monday, leading many Lebanese to doubt whether there is a ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said it carried out multiple airstrikes in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley Monday, saying it was targeting Hezbollah sites.
That was after Hezbollah fired drones at Israeli forces and Israel launched strikes in southern Lebanon.
Israel also issued new evacuation warnings for Lebanese residents in areas outside the Israeli-occupied zone, causing many to re-evacuate their homes.
"How can you call this a ceasefire?" one re-evacuee, Abad Ammar, 35, said in a voice note to NPR. "If there was a ceasefire we could be at home."
Hezbollah killed at least one Israeli soldier and injured several more in a drone attack in Israeli-occupied southern Lebanon.
Both Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of ceasefire violations, and seem to be ramping up their attacks in response.
Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Kate Bartlett in Johannesburg, Michele Kelemen in New York and Alex Leff in Washington contributed to this report.
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