offering mediation amid large-scale protests in Iran that have raised fears of a military confrontation in the region. Independent monitors say Iranian security forces have killed thousands in a forceful response to nationwide anti-government protests -- a crackdown that prompted threats of military action by the United States, Israel's key ally. Iran and Israel fought a brief war in June that saw unprecedented Israeli attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities. The United States had briefly joined those strikes, hitting three major Iranian nuclear sites. On Friday, Russia announced Putin was in contact with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a bid to cool tensions between the two rivals.

"The situation in the region is highly tense, and the president continues his efforts to facilitate de-escalation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Moscow is a close ally of Iran. It has also strived for good relations with Israel, though those ties became strained amid Russian criticsm of Israel's actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023. In a call with Israel's Netanyahu on Friday, the Kremlin said Russia had expressed its "readiness to continue its mediation efforts." It did not clarify what current efforts were being undertaken or comment on the protests in Iran. Moscow had previously offered mediation during the June war. Peskov said that Moscow would announce "the results of our telephone conversation with the Iranian President very soon."

Netanyahu said Sunday that he hoped Iran would soon be freed from what he described as the "yoke of tyranny", amid the protests. However, the rallies appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet blackout.  Iran has repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of inciting the unrest and trying to undermine the Islamic republic's national unity. A senior Saudi official told AFP on Thursday that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman led efforts to talk US President Donald Trump out of an attack on Iran amid the crackdown on the protestors, fearing "grave blowbacks in the region". (Bssnews)