Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone conversation with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, RT reported citing Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.

The American president initiated the call to discuss the latest international developments, according to the report.

The conversation focused on the Iran conflict and the trilateral talks between Moscow, Washington and Kiev aimed at settling the Ukraine conflict, according to the aide.

The dialogue between the two presidents was “business-like, open and constructive,” RT quoted Ushakov as saying, adding that both leaders expressed their readiness to continue regular contacts.

Putin and Trump talked for about an hour, he stated.

The US president reaffirmed Washington’s interest in seeing the hostilities between Moscow and Kiev end and reaching a long-term settlement of the Ukraine conflict. Putin thanked Trump for his administration’s continued mediation efforts, according to Ushakov.

Putin also shared his thoughts on the ongoing conflict in Iran and told Trump about his conversations with the leaders of the Gulf nations and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian he had last week. Trump, in turn, expressed his opinion about the situation, Ushakov said, adding that they had a very “substantive” discussion on the issue.

Trump has described his conversation with Putin as “a very good call,” telling a press conference later on Monday that the leaders discussed both the Iran war and the “never-ending fight” in Ukraine.

The last time the two presidents held a phone call was in December.

Earlier on Monday, Putin warned that continued conflict in the Middle East risks seriously disrupting global oil and gas flows, particularly given the de-facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key seaborne route.

According to TASS news agency, this was the 11th phone call between Putin and Trump since the latter took office in 2025. 

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that the war in Iran will “be over pretty quickly.” Addressing House Republicans attending a legislative retreat in Florida on Monday, Trump claimed that Iran would have attacked the U.S. “within a week” if the United States had not started the campaign.

“Within a week they were going to attack us 100%. They were ready. They had all these missiles far more than anyone thought, and they were going to attack us, but they were going to attack all of the Middle East and Israel. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they would have used it on Israel. And this was going to be a major attack. I know they had all of those missile sites and all those launchers that we got rid of, about 80% of them right now, by the way, got rid of most of the, you know, see, it’s died down to a trickle. They have very few launches left.”

Trump continued by saying the U.S. military had been “amazing”.

“And the missiles have been largely knocked out. the drones have been knocked down, and we’re hitting where they make the drones,” Trump said.

“We know them all, and we’re knocking the hell out of that. Now, where they manufacture the drones. A lot of work, a lot of brilliant work. But we’re going to have a much safer world as soon as it’s finished, and it’s going to be finished pretty quickly.”

Trump then told CBS News he thinks the war against Iran “is very complete” and that Washington was “very far ahead” ‌of his initial four to five week estimated time frame.

“I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force,” Trump told CBS News.

When asked about ⁠the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said that ships are moving through now, but he is “thinking about taking it over.”

After Trump’s statement, Reuters reported that oil prices fell on Tuesday after hitting an over three-year high in ‌the prior session. Brent futures fell $4.17, or 4.2%, to $94.79 a barrel at 0345 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $3.81, or 4%, to $90.96 a barrel. Both the contracts fell as much as 11% earlier before paring some losses.

The U.S. and Israel launched what they described as a pre-emptive strike against Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran was developing a nuclear weapon and posing a threat—an allegation Iran has denied. In response, Iran launched counterattacks, firing missiles and drones at Israel, as well as at U.S. assets and other targets across the Middle East. 

U.S. ‌President Donald Trump said on Monday he was “disappointed” that Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his ⁠slain father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the supreme leader of the country.

“We think it’s going to lead to just more of the same problem ‌for ⁠the country,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying at a press conference in Florida.

When asked ⁠whether the new leader had a target on his back, ⁠Trump said it would be “inappropriate” to say ⁠whether or not he does.

Trump earlier told Fox News he was “not happy” following the announcement of Mojtaba’s appointment.

The U.S. President previously argued that Mojtaba wasn’t a viable choice to lead Iran and indicated that the U.S. wouldn’t support that line of succession. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump told Axios on Thursday.

Trump wanted to be actively involved in the selection of Iran’s new leader, similar to the situation that unfolded after U.S. forces captured Venezuela’s fallen President Nicolás Maduro in January.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the ‌United States is waiving certain oil-related sanctions as a way to ensure adequate oil supply and lower prices, Reuters reports.

At a news conference at his ⁠Doral golf club, Trump said oil prices have not spiked as much as he had feared.

Trump said the United States is waiving certain oil-related sanctions to cut prices.

“We have sanctions on some countries. We’re ‌going ⁠to take those sanctions off till the Strait (of Hormuz) is up,” Trump said, according to Reuters.

He was not specific, but the United ⁠States last week issued a temporary, 30-day waiver to allow for the sale ⁠of Russian oil currently stranded at sea to India to alleviate ⁠pressure on the global oil market.

President Trump also threatened the Iranian regime against halting the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz amid the war. “If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. 

Azerbaijan has sent humanitarian aid to Iran “in order to meet the current needs of the neighboring and friendly Iranian people,” the Azerbaijani APA news agency reported.

According to the report, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev ordered the aid to be dispatched following a March 8 phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

APA reported that the humanitarian aid sent to the Islamic Republic of Iran by vehicles of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Emergency Situations includes 10 tons of flour, 6 tons of rice, 2.4 tons of sugar, more than 4 tons of water, nearly 600 kg of tea, and almost 2 tons of medicines and medical supplies.

The report comes days after tensions rose between Azerbaijan and Iran following drone strikes targeting Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave amid the ongoing Middle East escalation. Azerbaijan accused Iran of launching the drones and threatened to retaliate, but Tehran denied any involvement.

The U.S. military said that it had struck 5,000 targets, including more than 50 Iranian vessels, as well as air defense systems, ballistic missile sites, and military communications, in the first 10 days of Operation Epic Fury – the U.S. military campaign against Iran.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that assets employed in the operation include B-1 bombers, B-2 stealth bombers, B-52 bombers, drones, fighter jets, Patriot missile systems and more.

The U.S. and Israel launched what they described as a pre-emptive strike against Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran was developing a nuclear weapon and posing a threat—an allegation Iran has denied. In response, Iran launched counterattacks, firing missiles and drones at Israel, as well as at U.S. assets and other targets across the Middle East. 

Bringing down the regime in Iran is in the hands of the Iranian people, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.

“Our aspiration is to bring the Iranian people to throw off the yoke of tyranny,” The Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu as saying during a visit late last night to the National Health Emergency Operations Center. “Ultimately it depends on them. But there is no doubt that through the actions taken so far we are breaking their bones — and our arm is still outstretched.”

“If we succeed together with the Iranian people, we will bring about a permanent end — if such things exist in the life of nations — and we will bring about change,” Netanyahu said.

He said there is already a “tremendous change” in Israel’s standing in the world.

The U.S. and Israel launched what they described as a pre-emptive strike against Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran was developing a nuclear weapon and posing a threat—an allegation Iran has denied. In response, Iran launched counterattacks, firing missiles and drones at Israel, as well as at U.S. assets and other targets across the Middle East.