Russia says bombing Iran will not work after Trump threats

By Guy Faulconbridge and Gleb Stolyarov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday the world was getting tired of endless threats against Iran and that bombing the Islamic Republic would not bring peace, cautioning that Tehran was already taking preventative measures.

Iran is approaching weekend talks with the United States over its nuclear programme warily, with little confidence in progress and deep suspicions about U.S. intentions, Iranian officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

The talks were announced on Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January and has repeatedly threatened Washington's decades-long foe Iran with military action if it does not agree to a deal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was aware of the "quite harsh rhetoric" and that Tehran was taking preventative measures, and suggested the focus should be contacts rather than confrontation.

"Indeed, the world is growing tired of the endless threats against Iran," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said when asked by Reuters to clarify Russia's approach. "There is a growing understanding that bombing cannot pave the way to peace."

Iran's nuclear programme, which began in the 1950s with support from then-ally the United States, has long been the subject of dispute between world powers and Iran, whose 1979 Islamic Revolution turned it into one of the biggest foes of Washington.

The U.S., Israel and some European powers say Iran is covertly trying to develop a nuclear weapon, an assertion denied by Tehran which has in recent years built a partnership with Russia, the world's biggest nuclear power.

While Moscow has bought weapons from Iran for the war in Ukraine and signed a 20-year strategic partnership deal with Tehran earlier this year, their relationship has been deeply troubled at times since the 16th century when Muscovy officially established relations with the Persian Empire.

Iranian officials say that Moscow often talks tough but is wary of getting dragged into a major war in the Middle East. The partnership deal signed between Iran and Russia did not include a mutual defence clause.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has kept on good terms with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, especially since both Russia and Iran are cast as enemies by the West. But Moscow is keen not to trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

Russia, Zakharova said, wants "effective negotiable solutions" that would both reduce Western suspicions about Iran's uranium enrichment programme and restore trust while ensuring a balance of interests - and avoid a crisis.

The United States during Donald Trump's first presidency unilaterally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal that limited Iran's nuclear work and allowed for more inspections and a loosening of sanctions against it.

The U.S. withdrawal prompted Iran to scrap and then massively breach the deal's limits on uranium enrichment, widely seen as a key pathway to developing material for nuclear bombs.

"Tehran cannot be held responsible for the consequences of the illegal actions of those who, through their shortsightedness and erroneous forecasting, undermined agreements," Zakharova said.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Mark Heinrich)