MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Moscow views the attempted sabotage of a gas carrier near Ust-Luga as part of a broader Western-backed campaign targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure and exports; the United States and Iran appear to be nearing a preliminary agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz; and the Bank of Russia has filed a lawsuit in an EU court challenging a regulation that allows frozen Russian assets to be used in financial support programs for Ukraine. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Izvestia: Attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure seen as new Western strategy

Russian security services have thwarted another act of sabotage targeting the country’s fuel infrastructure. Terrorists attached what were reportedly NATO-made explosives to the hull of the gas carrier Arrhenius, which was traveling from Belgium to Russia’s Leningrad Region. Through such attacks on energy infrastructure, the alliance is implementing a strategy aimed at confronting Russia, lawmakers told Izvestia. Members of the Federation Council stressed that Russia is moving to a new level of counterterrorism efforts. Experts added that an attack on Russia’s port of Ust-Luga could have dealt a serious blow to Russian hydrocarbon exports, which was precisely what those behind the plot had intended.

Attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure have become part of a full-fledged NATO strategy in its confrontation with Russia, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy Pavel Zavalny told Izvestia. According to him, reaching any agreement with Western countries on halting attacks against fuel infrastructure is currently impossible.

Ust-Luga hosts oil storage facilities, chemical cargoes and gas infrastructure. An explosion involving a large vessel could have triggered a chain reaction. Such a major terrorist attack at the port would have resulted in many months of downtime, Pavel Maryshev, member of the expert council at the Russian Gas Society, told Izvestia.

"The reason behind the attempted sabotage and its logic are clear. From the perspective of Western countries, the goal is to deprive Russia of revenue from hydrocarbon exports," Sergey Tolkachev, professor at the Financial University under the Russian government, said.

The political logic began outweighing economic considerations as early as the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, professor at the Financial University under the Russian government Sergey Tolkachev noted. Planting explosives on a ship transporting natural resources is far easier, he added. All of this points to a dangerous escalation of confrontation between Russia and Europe, the expert stressed.

"The question here is who exactly is carrying out these attacks. It is hardly the EU countries themselves; rather, this concerns Ukrainian intelligence services," Valdai Club expert Andrey Kortunov pointed out. "There have been disagreements between Ukraine and its European partners over priority targets, when Europeans proposed refraining from strikes on energy infrastructure facilities precisely because of the difficulties such attacks create for supplying hydrocarbons to the European economy. Ukraine ignored those wishes or proposals. The interests of Europe and Ukraine do not fully coincide here," he added.

 

Vedomosti: US and Iran move closer to outline deal on Hormuz Strait, but doubts remain

The United States and Iran appear to have moved closer to reaching a framework agreement that could lead to the restoration of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and broader de-escalation. Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters during a May 25 briefing that the parties had managed to preliminarily agree on "most of the disputed issues" during negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that it was still too early to speak of the inevitability of signing a deal due to conflicting statements from Washington officials. Experts interviewed by Izvestia believe that any US-Iran agreement on the Strait of Hormuz would likely be temporary and fragile.

Discussions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program are currently not part of the bilateral dialogue agenda, while the details of new shipping rules in the Strait of Hormuz will be discussed by all coastal states, Baghaei emphasized. Iranian officials have already informed representatives of Russia and China about the results of the US-Iranian discussions, the diplomat noted.

Any decision regarding the Strait of Hormuz will be tactical and temporary in nature, Lev Sokolshchik, leading researcher at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, believes. Iran is emerging from the confrontation with the United States at the very least "undefeated," while the conflict itself, in the expert’s view, will continue to develop in a spiral, meaning that a new round of active confrontation in the future cannot be ruled out. The expert points to the Iranian leadership’s effective use of the Strait of Hormuz issue as leverage, which has dealt a painful blow to the United States and its partners while also causing serious turbulence on the global energy market. "Washington is trying to secure a temporary respite over Hormuz. But most reports about US-Iranian negotiations are either deliberate information leaks or diplomatic tactics designed to strengthen one side’s negotiating position," he told Vedomosti.

According to Sokolshchik, the current domestic political situation in the United States is also adding uncertainty to the US-Iran dialogue. The American political elite remains polarized, creating risks of a radical shift in the country’s foreign policy course. "Under these conditions, there are doubts about Washington’s ability to fulfill long-term commitments it undertakes," Sokolshchik added.

In theory, Iran could agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz following concessions from the American side and the adoption of a special protocol regulating navigation, Director General of the Center for the Study of Modern Iran Rajab Safarov told the newspaper.

 

Izvestia: Armenia deepens ties with Washington as US seeks expanded role in South Caucasus

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declined to travel to Astana for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) summit, citing the election campaign in Armenia. Instead, he will host US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Yerevan. Meanwhile, summit participants are expected to discuss Armenia’s European ambitions and its possible movement toward EU membership. Formally, Armenia remains a participant in Eurasian integration structures, but it is increasingly building relations with the West, Izvestia writes.

Parliamentary elections in Armenia are set to take place in two weeks. Against this backdrop, Washington also appears to be demonstrating support for the Armenian leader. On May 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to arrive in Yerevan. Armenia’s Foreign Ministry has officially denied any connection between the visit and the parliamentary elections, though the timing so close to the vote hardly appears coincidental.

Russian officials have previously expressed concern over the growing activity of Western leaders in Armenia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Yerevan is being drawn into an anti-Russian camp in order to hurt Moscow "as much as possible."

According to experts interviewed by Izvestia, US interest in Armenia is linked not only to supporting Pashinyan ahead of the elections. Rather, it reflects Washington’s broader efforts to strengthen its position in the South Caucasus.

"The United States is actively competing here with both the EU and the United Kingdom. Its presence in Armenia allows it, on the one hand, to monitor the situation around Iran and, on the other, to prevent Russia’s strengthening and take over key projects," political analyst and St. Petersburg State University professor Natalya Eryomina explained.

According to her, the strategy is aimed at ensuring a permanent presence of American interests in the region. Armenia has been chosen effectively because the country provides access to Central Asia, the Middle East, the Black Sea region, and onward into the European space.

Kamran Gasanov, expert at the Financial University under the Russian government, also believes that the initiative in relations with Armenia currently comes largely from the United States. In his opinion, Washington fears that after the elections in Yerevan, supporters of more pragmatic relations with Moscow could strengthen their positions. This, in turn, could weaken US influence in Armenia.

 

Vedomosti: Bank of Russia challenges EU regulation allowing use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine aid

The Bank of Russia has once again turned to a European court. This time, the regulator is challenging an EU regulation that permits financial assistance to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. The Central Bank filed the lawsuit with the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg on May 22, the regulator said on its website. Experts believe the EU regulation is largely political and declarative rather than a fully functional legal mechanism.

In February of this year, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation No. 2026/467 "On enhanced cooperation within the framework of the lending support program for Ukraine for 2026 and 2027." The regulation states that, in accordance with the firm support expressed by 25 heads of state and government on the sidelines of the European Council on December 18, 2025, Ukraine will have to repay the loan provided in its support after receiving reparations from Russia. At the same time, the EU retains the right to use Russian assets frozen on its territory to repay the loan in full compliance with EU and international law.

The disputed regulation treats the sovereign assets of the Bank of Russia as an element of financial support for a third state, thereby altering the legal and economic regime governing sovereign assets and thus "violating EU law, fundamental rights and applicable principles of international law, including the immunity of states and their central banks," the Bank of Russia argued.

Frozen assets cannot be used — pledged, gifted or otherwise transferred — without the consent of the title owner, namely Russia, while expropriation would only be possible subject to adequate compensation, Sergey Glandin, partner at BGP Litigation, told Vedomosti. In practice, Glandin believes, the EU has created a mechanism intended primarily as a political signal to reassure Ukraine and nothing more. "In general, this entire regulation is fairly declarative because there are major questions surrounding how it could actually be implemented," Glandin said. The expert assesses the Central Bank's chances as high.

If the court recognizes the regulation’s provisions as lawful, this will once again raise questions regarding the reliability of the EU’s financial jurisdiction, Egor Sergeev, senior researcher at the Institute for International Studies at MGIMO University under the Russian Foreign Ministry, told the newspaper.

 

Kommersant: Brent falls below $95 amid possible US-Iran deal

The price of Brent oil has fallen below $95 per barrel for the first time in a month. The nearly 9% decline was triggered by reports of an impending agreement between the United States and Iran. However, these are not the first such statements, and market participants remain skeptical, Kommersant writes. Even if a peace agreement is ultimately reached, analysts do not expect prices to quickly fall below the $85-per-barrel level. Oil inventories in strategic reserves have been significantly depleted, while rapidly increasing supplies to the market will not be possible.

Independent global markets portfolio manager Alyona Nikolaeva told Kommersant, the market has once again reacted primarily to hopes of de-escalation rather than to any real restoration of oil market balance.

Moreover, over recent months, announcements about deals being close to completion have been made several times, yet none have materialized because of disagreements between the parties. For this reason, experts say only the most volatile — emotional — portion of the geopolitical premium has disappeared from prices, namely the part reflecting risks of severe supply disruptions in the near future. The structural portion of the premium, associated with prolonged oil shortages, still remains.

Even if an agreement is signed and regular tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz resumes, a return to pre-conflict price levels remains unlikely. According to Freedom Finance Global analyst Vladimir Chernov, under such a scenario Brent prices could fall to $85-92 per barrel. "It will be difficult for prices to quickly move below $85 per barrel because inventories have already been heavily depleted, while the physical oil market remains tight," the expert told Kommersant. If the agreement collapses again, Brent prices would rapidly return to $100-110 per barrel, while renewed escalation could push them above $110-120 per barrel.

The decline in oil prices has had only a limited impact on the Russian market. "The lag between current oil prices and their effect on the ruble exchange rate is about one and a half months. The market is currently receiving April foreign currency revenues, when Urals crude prices were at $95 per barrel," Sovcombank Chief Analyst Mikhail Vasilyev explained.

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