On Donald Trump’s birthday, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a one-hour phone call where both leaders urged an end to the Israel-Iran conflict, while the US cancelled planned nuclear talks with Tehran.
Washington/Moscow, June 15, 2025:
A high-profile phone conversation between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday took a serious diplomatic turn amid the escalating Israel-Iran conflict. While initially intended as a birthday greeting, the one-hour call centered on the growing war in the Middle East, with both leaders in agreement that the conflict “should end.”
Trump, who turned 79 on June 14, posted on TruthSocial, saying, “President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but more importantly, to talk about Iran, a country he knows very well. We talked at length.”
While the Russia-Ukraine conflict was briefly mentioned and reserved for discussions next week—Trump hinted at ongoing large-scale prisoner swaps—the primary focus remained the rapidly intensifying situation between Israel and Iran. “He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end,” Trump emphasized. “To which I explained, his war should also end.”
The diplomatic backdrop was further strained as Oman, acting as mediator, announced the cancellation of the sixth round of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States scheduled for this weekend, citing the ongoing hostilities.
The recent conflict has escalated rapidly, with Israel launching ‘Operation Rising Lion’, a retaliatory airstrike campaign that reportedly killed several high-ranking Iranian officials, including Hossein Salami, chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and Gen Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the armed forces.
Israel defended the strike by stating it had credible intelligence that Iran’s nuclear program had reached a critical stage — the “point of no return.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the strikes aimed to “roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.”
In retaliation, Iran launched missile strikes targeting Tel Aviv, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing to “act forcefully.” The violence has already claimed hundreds of lives and prompted urgent international calls for de-escalation.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also held separate conversations with Trump and echoed the sentiment that the Israel-Iran conflict must be resolved through “diplomacy and dialogue.”
As tensions mount, the Trump-Putin call underscores how global powers are becoming increasingly entangled in a crisis that threatens to destabilize the Middle East and ripple far beyond the region.
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Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Israel Iran conflict, Operation Rising Lion, Iran nuclear talks, US Russia diplomacy, Tel Aviv airstrikes, Netanyahu Iran attack, Khamenei retaliation, Trump TruthSocial post, Middle East crisis