President Donald Trump spoke by phone Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the conflict involving Iran and ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine, according to the Kremlin. It was the first publicly reported conversation between the two leaders since fighting involving Iran began.
Russia has long maintained close ties with Iran, and U.S. officials have expressed concern that Moscow could assist Tehran during the conflict. Trump downplayed that possibility, though White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Saturday that he had communicated to Russian officials that they should not share intelligence with Iran.
Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian reporters that the call lasted about an hour and described the conversation as “frank” and “businesslike.”
According to Ushakov, Putin presented Trump with several proposals aimed at ending the conflict involving Iran. Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on state television that France, China and Russia had reached out to discuss possible conditions for a ceasefire, Axios reported.
Several hours after the call, Trump told reporters that he had “a very good call with Putin.”
“He wants to be helpful [with Iran]. I told him you can be more helpful by ending the war in Ukraine,” Trump said.
Earlier this week, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) delivered a combative defense of U.S. military operations in Iran during a heated exchange Wednesday night with CNN host Kaitlan Collins — and at one point bluntly told her, “You don’t have to cut me off here.”
Fetterman appeared on The Source as fallout continued from a Feb. 28 Tomahawk missile strike that hit the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building in Minab, southeastern Iran. Iranian reports claim at least 175 people were killed, most of them children. A preliminary U.S. military investigation later found the strike resulted from faulty targeting intelligence based on outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency. The intended target was reportedly an adjacent Iranian base.
Nearly every Senate Democrat signed a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling for a “swift investigation.” Fetterman was the only Democrat who did not.
Collins pressed him directly.
“Every Senate Democrat except you signed a letter today… asking for an investigation into that strike on a girls’ school in Iran,” she said. “Why did you not sign that letter, senator?”
Fetterman responded that he agreed the strike was a tragedy and supported accountability — but rejected broader Democratic criticism of the war.
“Well, because we all agree that it is a tragedy having that school hit, absolutely,” Fetterman said. “And we all agreed now for an investigation. What I don’t agree with the rest of my colleagues… is that it’s a war of choice or it’s dumb… I think it’s a good thing and I support that.”
He emphasized that the Pentagon had already acknowledged likely responsibility and said an apology would be appropriate if the findings are confirmed.
But Fetterman pivoted to what he described as disproportionate media outrage over the school strike compared to coverage of Iranian actions.
“And I would remind everybody listening right now, the United States never, ever targets civilians,” he said. “Iran does… and they massacred 35,000 of them just a couple of weeks ago.”
As Collins attempted to interject, Fetterman continued forcefully.
“The left media is much more angry… about this hospital. And it is a tragedy. But they didn’t seem to be as concerned about the Iranians massacring tens of thousands of their young people just a couple of weeks ago.”
Collins pushed back, noting that CNN had extensively covered protests and internal unrest in Iran.
“Well, I don’t watch, so I don’t know,” Fetterman replied, adding that he was referring more broadly to what he sees as a pattern in “other left media,” including outlets like The New York Times, which he accused of portraying the war effort as a disaster.
