Lavrov Urges US, Iran to Return to Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding

Lavrov's intervention matters less for what it proposes than for who is proposing it: Russia positioning itself as a broker between Washington and Tehran at a moment when that channel is effectively closed. The appeal to a prior signed framework, rather than any new mechanism, signals that Moscow's leverage rests on reviving past commitments both sides have since drifted from. Whether Washington or Tehran engages with the suggestion at all is the open question — and whether Arab states' trust-building with Iran, which Lavrov pairs with it, becomes a parallel track or remains rhetorical.