At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary on 6 June 2026, Vladimir Putin publicly reaffirmed Russia's offer to take custody of Iran's 440.9 kg stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium. He also stated that Russia is not arming Iran, that Tehran has made no weapons requests, and that both Washington and Jerusalem had privately told Moscow that recent shelling near Bushehr was accidental.

SPIEF is an annual state-sponsored economic forum held in St Petersburg, established in 1997. It was originally Russia's answer to Davos, attracting Western business leaders and heads of state. Since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western attendance has collapsed and the forum has functioned primarily as a platform for Kremlin foreign-policy messaging to non-Western governments and domestic audiences.

The 2026 edition has acquired outsized diplomatic significance. Putin's use of SPIEF to surface the HEU custody proposal publicly signals that Moscow intends to position itself as a broker in any eventual Iran nuclear settlement, even as Russia remains diplomatically isolated from the Western-led framework talks.

Common Questions

What did Putin say about Iran at SPIEF 2026?

Putin reaffirmed Russia's offer to take custody of Iran's 440.9 kg stockpile of 60%-enriched uranium and stated Russia is not supplying Iran with weapons.Source: Lowdown

What is the St Petersburg International Economic Forum?

SPIEF is Russia's annual state-sponsored economic forum, established in 1997 as a Davos counterpart. Since 2022 it functions mainly as a Kremlin foreign-policy messaging platform after Western governments and businesses withdrew.

Why does Russia want to hold Iran's enriched uranium?

Russia has offered to store Iran's high-enriched uranium as part of a broader bid to position itself as an indispensable broker in any nuclear settlement and to reduce the risk of the material being weaponised.Source: Lowdown

Who attends the St Petersburg Economic Forum now?

Western governments and multinationals largely stopped attending after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The 2026 edition drew primarily non-Western states and Russian domestic business interests.

Source Material

St Petersburg International Economic Forum

How the World Sees Them

Iran

Russia's public offer was not solicited by Tehran in this session; Iran has neither accepted nor formally rejected the custody proposal.

Russia

SPIEF is a prestige platform for projecting diplomatic relevance; Putin's 2026 HEU statement was designed to position Moscow as an indispensable Iran-deal broker.

United States

Washington has privately communicated with Moscow on the Bushehr shelling incident, indicating back-channels remain open despite public confrontation.

Western Europe

Largely absent from the forum since 2022; the HEU statement will be read through intelligence channels rather than diplomatic engagement at SPIEF.