Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran, presenting a peace plan to a visiting American delegation on March 19 and disclosing on March 20 that he had transmitted the proposal to the Trump administration, Belarussian media reported.

The initiative positions Minsk as an unexpected intermediary in the conflict and has caught Moscow off guard, effectively sidelining Russia, which had itself offered to mediate.

Lukashenko met US special envoy John Cole in Minsk on March 19 and proposed broadening the agenda beyond the Ukraine conflict to address the Iran crisis.

When Cole asked whether the Belarusian president was referring specifically to the Iran war, Lukashenko confirmed he was and said he was ready for a "completely frank conversation."

On March 20, Lukashenko said he had passed his plan to Washington without revealing its contents publicly.

He noted that Minsk maintained relationships with all parties to the conflict and was interested in developing those contacts further.

Belarus has longstanding ties with Tehran, including military-technical cooperation. Analysts said Lukashenko's move could be part of a broader geopolitical play to strengthen Minsk's international standing and demonstrate utility to Washington.

The mediation bid has unsettled the Kremlin. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov had earlier confirmed Russia's readiness to mediate but subsequently declined to confirm that Putin had accepted the role.

Political commentators said the "Belarusian vector" troubled Moscow, particularly given the Trump administration's open interest in pulling Minsk away from Russia's orbit.

Lukashenko himself is wary of being grouped by Trump alongside Venezuela, Iran and Cuba as a target, analysts noted.

His room for manoeuvre is limited, squeezed between a suspicious Kremlin and a Washington that some analysts said was "opening its arms in order to squeeze."