Putin Hosts Iran's President and Qatar's Emir in Moscow as Iran Says a Tanker Hit Mines Near Hormuz
Pezeshkian told Putin the region can solve its problems without the US, Putin backed Qatar's mediation, and Iran's army said a tanker was damaged crossing a zone Tehran had not authorised.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026/2 min read
While Washington waits for an answer from Tehran, Moscow turned itself into a stage for the other side of the argument. Russian President Vladimir Putin received Iran's president and Qatar's emir on Tuesday on the sidelines of a gas exporters' summit, and Iran's president used the occasion to say the region can settle its own problems without the United States.
The talks coincided with a new incident at sea: Iran's army said an oil tanker was damaged and set alight after striking mines near the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by The Times of Israel.
What did Putin say to Pezeshkian and the Qatari emir?
Both meetings took place on the sidelines of the eighth Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit, and Anadolu Agency carries the readouts. Putin told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that the regional situation worries Russia, which works closely with Iran, and hoped it would develop in a positive direction. He said bilateral trade rose 10.4 percent in the first eight months of the year and that construction at the Bushehr nuclear power plant continues. Pezeshkian argued that aggressive US steps in the region showed the need for a multipolar world.
With Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Putin backed Doha's mediation and called the June Islamabad Memorandum, signed with Qatari and Pakistani help, a basis for negotiations. He said Russia was ready to help resolve the Iran conflict. The emir said US-Iran tensions had affected the region, including the strait and energy markets. UPI's photo caption says the leaders also discussed the Gulf energy crisis and the closure of Hormuz.
What happened to the tanker near Hormuz?
The Iranian army, quoted by state agency IRNA, said the vessel tried to cross a prohibited and dangerous area east of the Strait of Hormuz that Tehran had not authorised, and suffered damage and a fire. The Times of Israel notes it could not independently confirm this account, and the report names no vessel and no casualties.
Where do the US-Iran talks stand?
The Moscow meetings came as Qatari mediators were trying to close a gap. We reported on Monday that Qatari mediators had reached Tehran. Ibrahim Al-Hashmi, a Qatari foreign ministry official, said on Tuesday that "the ball is now in Iran's court" to show good faith, reopen the strait and stop threatening its neighbours, The Times of Israel reports.
Moscow's support gives Tehran a diplomatic backer but not an obvious way out of the standoff. The strait remains closed, the sequence of concessions is still disputed, and the US midterm elections a week away are widely treated as a deadline for a deal. Whatever Russia can offer, the answer that matters still has to come from Tehran and Washington.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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