Russia is prepared to support Iran in its ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but Tehran must first communicate its requests, according to a Kremlin spokesperson.

Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that the assistance “depends on what the Iranian side, what our Iranian friends say,” according to TASS, Russia’s state-run news agency.

“We have offered our mediation efforts. This is concrete,” Peskov said. “We have stated our position, which is also a very important form of support for the Iranian side. Going forward, everything will depend on what Iran needs at this moment.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday to “exchange views in the wake of this traumatic escalation,” Peskov said.

Trump fires back at Medvedev over ‘nuclear’ comments

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump fired back at Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and an ally of Vladimir Putin, for saying he’s “pushed the US into another war,” and that countries are “ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.”

Writing on social media, Trump said, “Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination?”

“If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS.'”

All of this comes in the way of Trump announcing Saturday night that bunker-busting bombers destroyed three Iranian nuclear facilities.

On Monday, Trump announced a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Iran and Israel.

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Putin: ‘Unprovoked act of aggression’ against Iran ‘without foundation or justification’

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday took aim at the recent U.S. strikes on Iran, calling them a “completely unprovoked act of aggression.”

“You are visiting Russia during a challenging period, marked by a significant escalation of tensions both in the region and surrounding your country,” Putin told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to an English transcript from the Kremlin.

“Russia’s position on the current developments is well known. It has been clearly expressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is reflected in the stance we’ve taken at the United Nations Security Council, with which you are already familiar.”

“The completely unprovoked act of aggression against Iran is without foundation or justification. Russia has long-standing, strong, and trustworthy relations with Iran, and we are committed to supporting the Iranian people through our continued efforts,” he added.

President Trump announced Saturday that the United States had bombed three Iranian nuclear sites, stepping into a conflict between Iran and Israel that kicked off earlier this month.

Iran has since launched an attack on a U.S. Air Force base in Qatar, with a spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying in a statement that Qatari air defenses “thwarted the attack and successfully intercepted the Iranian missiles.”

A Kremlin spokesperson also said Monday that Russia was ready to assist in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict, but that Iran needed to spell out its requests.

Dmitry Peskov, a Russian presidential spokesperson, said to reporters at a briefing that potential aid “all depends on what Iran needs.”

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A changed Middle East brings vindication for Netanyahu but comes at a cost for Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likes to remind his country and the world that in the disorienting first days after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, he predicted Israel would “change the Middle East.”

Now, 20 months later, a regionwide war has all but crushed the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, thrashed Hezbollah in Lebanon, toppled Bashar Assad in Syria and delivered a harsh blow to archenemy Iran.

It’s an achievement that Netanyahu, who has long railed against what he dubbed Tehran’s “tentacles of terror,” will likely claim as a personal win and a boost for his battered legacy.

One by one, Iran's network of regional allies has been neutralized, defeated or badly weakened, dismantling a ring of hostile armed actors along Israel's borders and reshaping the region.

But the changes came at an enormous cost for Israel, which suffered the deadliest attack in its history on Oct. 7 and faces deep international isolation over its response, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and made Gaza virtually unlivable. The strategic success, while stunning, leaves many questions about the future of the region.

“These changes are a major blow to the Iranian axis,” said Meir Litvak, a senior research associate at the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank. “Does it change the Middle East entirely? No, because there are many problems that haven't been solved and won't be solved by this change.”

Netanyahu has emphasized Iran's allies as a threat

In his relentless crusade against Iran and its nuclear program, Netanyahu has long highlighted the Islamic Republic's yearslong campaign to deepen its influence across the Middle East by arming and funding proxies in strategic locations.

“Iran’s goons in Gaza, its lackeys in Lebanon, its Revolutionary Guards on the Golan Heights are clutching Israel with three tentacles of terror,” Netanyahu told Congress in a 2015 speech. In that speech, he railed against the Obama administration's emerging nuclear deal with Iran, which did not address its proxies.

“If Iran’s aggression is left unchecked, more will surely follow,” he said.

Netanyahu failed to prevent that nuclear deal from being signed, and there appeared to be little Israel could do to keep Iran and its allies in check. U.S. administrations slapped sanctions against Iran and its allies, while Netanyahu stepped up attacks in Syria against Iranian influence and arms transfers, but the axis persisted.

Iran has long used regional allies in its conflict with Israel

Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has sought to “export” its ideals to other parts of the region.

Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, enjoyed Iranian funding and military support over the years. The Shiite Hezbollah has been a key ally of Iran's for decades. Assad, the former Syrian president and linchpin of Iran's foreign policy, allowed shipments of arms destined for Hezbollah to pass through his territory. The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched missiles and drones at Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.

Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attacks with the hope that the stunning assault would trigger a response from the so-called “ring of fire” and lead to the intervention of Hezbollah and Iran.

The result was the exact opposite, a total unraveling of what appeared to be an ironclad alliance.

A domino effect that paved the way to the war with Iran

Although Hamas continues to fight Israel and hold dozens of Israeli hostages, its leadership has been wiped out and its strength is a small fraction of what it once was.

Hezbollah and the Houthis joined the fighting after the attacks but had no major bearing on Israel’s ability to respond to Hamas.

In late September, Israel launched a dizzying campaign against Hezbollah. What began with a covert operation that detonated explosive beepers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members led to the group's total decapitation, including the killing its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, when Israel dropped dozens of bombs on his hideout.

With Hezbollah neutralized, Sunni Syrian rebels seized the moment to launch an insurgency, reaching the capital in days and toppling Assad, who had enjoyed the Lebanese militant group's protection in previous crises.

Hezbollah's weakness paved the way for Israel to strike Iran on two occasions last year, taking out key air defenses and clearing the way for the recent air war with Iran. Hezbollah, a major Iranian investment that once served as a deterrent against an Israeli strike on Iran, stayed entirely out of the war.

With Iran's strategy in tatters, the Houthis may not be able to keep up with their attacks.

“There is no doubt that Iranian proxies, the ring of fire, the axis of terror, the axis of resistance, whatever you want to call it, doesn’t exist anymore,” said Nadav Eyal, an Israeli commentator.

Netanyahu's vow to change the region came at a staggering cost

Netanyahu, who has watched his political fortunes plummet since Hamas’ initial attack, has been buoyed by each of those shifts in the region, though some were products of chance.

“We would not have gotten here without Oct. 7,” said David Makovsky, director of the program on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Without Hamas' initial attack and the chain reaction it set off, Israel may not have succeeded in dismantling the Iranian axis at all.

And the shifts could backfire. Iran, without its first line of defense, may now feel vulnerable and could rush toward obtaining nuclear weapons in response.

Still, Netanyahu can likely count on an electoral boost from the regional changes. Israelis can feel relieved that the major threats that long encircled them, as well as the more distant Iran, have been subdued for now.

But Netanyahu's pledge to change the Middle East came at a staggering cost. Israeli society is forever changed by Hamas' attacks. The country's international standing has been badly, perhaps irreparably, damaged over devastation it has wrought in Gaza. And the underlying issue that set off the war in the first place — the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — remains further than ever from resolution.

“There is a major change here without a doubt,” said Litvak. “But that problem doesn't disappear.”

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What the ceasefire between Israel and Iran could mean for Gaza and the hostages

On Monday night, President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, turning the focus back to ending the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The war between Israel and Iran lasted just 12 days, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has waged war with Hamas since Hamas fighters launched a series of brutal attacks primarily against civilians on Oct. 7, 2023.

The Times reported that after brokering this ceasefire deal, Trump is likely to “seek a return on his investment by pressuring Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza, as his other allies in the Middle East have been pressing him to do.”

According to Reuters, the deal between Israel and Iran has raised the hopes of Palestinians that an end of the war in Gaza could come soon. Thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed or displaced in the protracted war.

Qatar hopes to assist in talks between Israel and Hamas

On Tuesday, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani announced that his country is actively working to facilitate indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in the coming days, according to JNS.

“We remain committed to collaborating with Egypt and the United States to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza,” Al Thani said, according to JNS.

Al Thani also expressed hopes that Israel would not take advantage of the ceasefire with Iran to keep attacking Gaza.

The goal of the discussions would be to secure a ceasefire and the release of the 50 remaining hostages. These discussions on ending the war would follow a framework drafted by the U.S.

“Regarding the Gaza talks, discussions are ongoing with both the Israeli side and Hamas in an effort to reach an agreement based on the American draft,” Al Thani said, according to The Times of Israel.

He did not give details on what the proposal involves.

How many hostages are being held in Gaza?

According to JNS, Israeli authorities have reported that approximately 50 hostages are currently being held by terrorist groups in Gaza. A majority of these individuals were captured on Oct. 7.

Israel said on Sunday it recovered the bodies of three hostages.

At least 28 of these hostages have been confirmed dead, another 20 are believed to be alive and there are major concerns for the well-being of the remaining two, per JNS.

The Associated Press reported that the hostages include four non-Israelis: one Tanzanian and two Thais who have been confirmed dead, and a Nepalese captive.

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Tarnished by Oct. 7, Netanyahu's legacy may be reshaped by war with Iran

In the days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed a shellshocked shadow of himself. He looked diminished and downtrodden by the surprise assault that created a national emergency and caused his public support to plummet.

Now, as Israel faces another unprecedented crisis in a war with Iran, Netanyahu appears rejuvenated. With the U.S. lending its support against a threat he has devoted his life to confronting, Netanyahu is demonstrating a resurgent confidence that could signal a new turning point in his lengthy political career.

Even as Iranian missiles pound Israeli cities, Netanyahu, 75, has the chance to salvage his sagging political fortunes and reshape a legacy punctured by Hamas' attacks, a corruption trial and a history of divisive rule. If he succeeds, it will cement his reputation within Israel as a political wizard who can rise from the ashes.

“Netanyahu has proven that he is a phoenix,” said veteran Israeli journalist and Netanyahu biographer Mazal Mualem.

Netanyahu's troubled legacy is granted a lifeline

The war is far from won. Israel is still vulnerable to Iranian attacks, and whatever political boost Netanyahu gains from the latest developments could dissipate by elections scheduled for next year. He is the same polarizing leader he was yesterday.

Internationally, he faces an arrest warrant for charges of war crimes in Gaza. He is widely reviled across the Arab world. And after nearly two years of regionwide conflict, many critics see him as a warmonger responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East.

But domestically, where Netanyahu's eyes are always focused, his legacy has been granted a lifeline.

Many Israelis are attuned to Netanyahu’s campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, which they view as a major threat to their country and are therefore relieved by the direct involvement of the U.S. military.

“Netanyahu is seen as a very divisive and destructive leader. He is seen as someone who talks a lot and doesn't do anything,” said Aviv Bushinsky, a former Netanyahu aide. “Today, Netanyahu redeemed himself, big time.”

In an early morning video statement after the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Netanyahu could barely contain a smile as he thanked President Donald Trump. He said the intervention would “change history.”

It's a stunning turnaround for an Israeli leader who critics and analysts largely wrote off in the days after Oct. 7, when he presided over the deadliest attack in Israel's history. Many hold Netanyahu personally responsible for overseeing policies that enabled Hamas to retain power in Gaza for many years and build up a formidable arsenal.

Netanyahu has been buoyed occasionally since then by military successes against Hamas and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. But with the Gaza war dragging on with no end in sight, and dozens of Israeli hostages still in captivity, his approval ratings have remained low.

The week-old assault on Iran, highlighted by Sunday's U.S. attack, grants Netanyahu a chance for salvation.

Netanyahu's yearslong focus on Iran

The war caps a yearslong focus — some would say obsession — by Netanyahu on Iran and its nuclear program. Since his first term as prime minister in the 1990s, and throughout his current, nearly uninterrupted 16-year rule, he has made challenging Iran's nuclear program his life's work.

Netanyahu has long portrayed Iran as an existential threat — pointing not only to its nuclear program, but also its development of long-range missiles aimed at Israel and support for hostile militant groups on Israel's borders.

Iran became a repeated theme in his speeches to the Israeli and international public. He famously hoisted a cartoon bomb from the dais of U.N. General Assembly as he accused Iran of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran insists the program is for civilian purposes. At the same time, Netanyahu has made no mention of Israel's own widely suspected nuclear weapons arsenal.

Netanyahu took significant diplomatic risks to pursue his crusade, including with a 2015 speech to Congress that was organized by Republican lawmakers, angering the Obama administration. During the speech, he railed against a U.S.-led deal on Iran's nuclear program just as negotiators were wrapping up its details. Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the agreement during his first term.

Some critics say that it was Netanyahu's laser focus on Iran, and the military and intelligence resources devoted to it, that blinded the Israeli leader and the defense establishment to the threat Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas' attack is a stain on Netanyahu's legacy

Hamas’ attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage, blindsided Israel. Netanyahu, who likes to portray himself as a security hawk and the only true guardian of Israel, is seen by many as having promoted a failed strategy in the years preceding the Oct. 7 attack by sending huge amounts of aid into in Gaza under the misconception that Hamas was deterred.

In fact, the Palestinian militant group would stage a brutal assault that would crush Israel's vaunted defenses and change the course of history.

In the aftermath of Hamas' attack, Netanyahu's public support plummeted.

Netanyahu shrugged off accountability for Hamas' attacks, pointing a finger at his security chiefs and rejecting demands for a public inquiry into the failures. He says he will answer tough questions about his role after the war, now in its 21st month.

Any political boost from the war could fade by elections

Netanyahu's work is not done. The war in Gaza grinds on, and Netanyahu still dreams of seeing a normalization deal between Israel and Arab powerhouse Saudi Arabia as part of his legacy.

The question remains whether Netanyahu will rebound politically from the Iran war. Polls taken last week showed that Netanyahu would still struggle to form a coalition if elections were held today. Even if he gets a bump from Sunday's U.S. attack, it's not clear how long that might last.

Bushinsky compared Netanyahu's potential political predicament to a world leader he likes to compare himself to, Winston Churchill, who, after leading the allies in triumphantly defeating the Nazis in World War II, did not get reelected in a 1945 vote in part because public priorities shifted dramatically.

“Bibi may be ‘King of Israel,” Bushinsky said, using a nickname for Netanyahu popular among his supporters, “but even a king has his limits.”

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Netanyahu says Israel brought Iran's nuclear program 'to ruin'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel's war against Iran "brought to ruin" the country's nuclear program. He listed Israel's achievements in the war, including its attacks on top generals and nuclear scientists.

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Israel has informed US President Donald Trump that it will refrain from further attacks on Iran in a conversation between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Netanyahu's office has said.

Trump had stressed his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire he had announced earlier, the report said.

Trump announced the ceasefire late Monday, and it was confirmed by Israel and Iran on Tuesday. But both sides accused the other of violations, and Trump also stated that both had broken the ceasefire agreement.

Netanyahu's office reported that four hours before the ceasefire was to go into effect, Israeli forces had killed hundreds of Iranian security personnel and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC).

Iran had in turn launched a barrage of missiles shortly before the ceasefire deadline, a single missile six minutes after the ceasefire had gone into effect and a further two missiles around three and a half hours later, it said.

"These missiles were either intercepted or fell in open areas, and caused neither casualties nor damage," Netanyahu's office said. "In response to Iran's violations, the Air Force destroyed a radar installation near Tehran," it added.

In the conversation with Netanyahu, Trump had expressed his "great appreciation" for Israel, which achieved all of its objectives for the war, as well as his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire, Netanyahu's office said.