Putin pledges support for Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in St Petersburg on Monday and told him he hoped the Iranian people would weather what he described as a "difficult period" and that peace would soon prevail.
“For our part, we will do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region to ensure that peace is achieved as quickly as possible,” Putin told Araqchi, according to Russian state media.
"Last week I received a message from Iran’s Supreme Leader. I would like to ask you to convey my most sincere thanks for this and to confirm that Russia, like Iran, intends to continue our strategic relationship," Putin added.
The Russian president also hailed "how courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence and sovereignty", the TASS news agency 
reported.
"Russia, just like Iran, intends to continue our strategic relationship," the Kremlin chief added.
Araqchi said relations between Russia and Iran would continue to strengthen and thanked Putin for Moscow's support, the state RIA news agency reported.
He said the Islamic republic was "stable, solid" during a meeting in Russia with President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian state TV.
The Iranian FM also said due to the war with the United States and Israel, "the world has now realised Iran's true power" and "it has become clear that the Islamic republic of Iran is a stable, solid and powerful system", he said in the meeting in Saint Petersburg.
He added that Russia had stood by Iran and the two countries would continue their "strategic partnership". 
Meanwhile, Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear program would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.
US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US and Israel to go to war on 28 February.
The proposal would push off negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons. 
The two officials, who had knowledge of the proposal, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations between Iranian and Pakistani officials this weekend. The Axios news outlet first reported Iran’s proposal.

Trump was set to hold talks on the war on Monday with his top security advisors, US media reported.
The US president plans to discuss options for the war going forward, including whether the US will 
resume its bombing campaign, with top national security officials, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he would talk to Iranian authorities after his two-day trip to Andorra and would insist for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Bahrain’s interior ministry said it revoked citizenship rights “of those who expressed sympathy and praise for Iran’s hostile and criminal acts.” It noted the move also applied to the families of individuals accused.
Pakistan still seeks to bridge US, Iran gaps despite failure of face-to-face talks.