The Kremlin is losing one of its key bargaining chips in negotiations with Donald Trump. Political expert Abbas Galliamov says that for Ukraine, the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a promising prospect, as Tehran remains the closest ally of Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, Radio NV reports. 

“This is Putin’s closest ally. Ukrainians have seen enough of Iranian drones flying overhead. That alone is enough to wish those guys some serious trouble, which the Israel Defense Forces is currently delivering,” Galliamov explains.

According to him, Putin is losing a trump card in his dialogue with the US president.

“Up to now, there’s been a kind of trade-off: Ukraine in exchange for Iran. Trump would say to Putin, ‘Fine, I won’t put too much pressure on you over Ukraine for now, but in return, I need your support on Iran,’” Galliamov explains.

Once the Iranian nuclear issue is resolved, especially if the Iranian regime falls, Trump will have no need to seek Putin’s support in that arena.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the first wave of airstrikes on Iran “very successful,” UNIAN reports. 

Israeli military sources clarify that among those killed in the attack were former head of Iran’s nuclear agency Fereydoon Abbasi, nuclear scientist Mehdi Tehranchi, and physicist Abdolrahim Minuchehr.

During the first wave of Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, may have also been eliminated.

Russia emerges as potential mediator in Trump’s new Iran nuclear deal talks

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson states that other Iranian commanders and leading scientists involved in nuclear development may also have been killed as a result of the Israeli strikes.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei later acknowledged the deaths of several high-ranking military officials and nuclear scientists in the Israeli attacks. Iran’s armed forces had earlier vowed a “firm response” to the Israeli assault. Khamenei declared he was giving full freedom of action to the military to answer the strike.

Israel has carried out a large-scale military operation targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, an action reportedly prepared over the years, which resembles tactics used in Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb, according to UNIAN. 

According to Israeli media, the Israel Defense Forces established a covert base for strike drones within Iranian territory. From this hidden launch site, a wave of kamikaze drones attacked key components of Iran’s nuclear and missile infrastructure.

Al Jazeera reports that the drones struck earth-to-earth missile launchers at Iran’s Asfaghabad military base near Tehran.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has stated that the military “will continue its mission to disrupt Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

Simultaneously, Israeli fighter jets reportedly bombed uranium enrichment facilities in Natanz and Fordow, as well as missile bases in Kermanshah and Khorramabad. Other major cities, Tehran, Isfahan, and Tabriz, were also hit, with precision strikes aimed at top military leadership and nuclear scientists, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports. 

The holy city of Qom, home to much of Iran’s clerical elite, also came under attack.

According to unconfirmed reports cited by Iranian state media, the strikes killed several high-ranking figures, including IRGC Commander Hossein Salami, Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, and nuclear physicist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.

Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Efi Defrin says the operation was a preemptive warning against Iran’s near-completion of a nuclear weapon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran had already stockpiled enough enriched uranium for nine nuclear bombs and planned to produce 10,000 ballistic missiles within three years.