WASHINGTON, February 3. /TASS/. Russia can play a "very important role" in defusing the current tensions surrounding Iran, said Scott Sagan, professor of political science at Stanford University (California).

"Russia can play a very important role," he said at an online seminar of the Stimson Center. The US expert recalled that on January 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in Moscow. According to Sagan, some indications suggest that Tehran "might be willing to send some enriched uranium to Russia for storage." "There is renewed interest in some kind of possible international [uranium] enrichment facility somewhere else in the Middle East. That could be a diplomatic way out for Iran to say that they haven't totally backed down, and Russia could help support that," the expert believes.

"Whether that will be enough for President [of the US Donald] Trump - I don't know. We have a risk-prone president, one who makes rash decisions and is willing to use force when other presidents have not been willing to use force," Sagan added.

On January 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced Moscow's readiness to help defuse tensions between Iran and Israel as it did in 2015, when Russia took surplus enriched uranium exceeding the amount agreed upon for the Islamic Republic. Then, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the issue of transporting enriched uranium from Iran to Russia had long been on the agenda and that Moscow was continuing to maintain contact with all interested parties.

Trump said on January 26 that a "massive armada" was heading toward Iran. He expressed hope that Tehran would return to the negotiating table and conclude a "fair and equitable" deal, implying a complete renunciation of nuclear weapons. In response, Tehran warned that any attack on Iran will entail threats to the United States and its allies’ entire military infrastructure in the Middle East. According to the Axios portal, which cited its sources, US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul on February 6.