Russia’s top diplomat said Moscow does not support the Western countries’ call for including non-nuclear issues in the 2015 agreement with Iran, saying the landmark deal should not be revised.
In a webinar interview with IRNA and IRIB, Sergey Lavrov said issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear deal stem from the United States’ unilateral exit and sanctions imposed on Tehran.
“The US has in fact punished Iran for Washington’s own breach of its commitments. The US approach to JCPOA is unconstructive,” he said.
He used the abbreviation of the deal’s formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was signed between Iran and six world powers, namely Russia, China, the US, France, Britain and Germany, restricting Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.
The US pulled out in 2018 and reinstated its unilateral sanctions, arguing that the deal was defective and needed to be renegotiated to include other areas, such as Iran’s missile program and regional role, as well as extended nuclear and arms bans.
The European parties also failed to fulfill their end of the bargain, practically leaving Iran deprived of its promised benefits under JCPOA.
Tehran gradually backpedaled on its nuclear commitments after a year until it can once again enjoy those benefits.
US President-elect Joe Biden has vowed to rejoin the agreement if Iran were to resume full compliance, but has also signaled his intention to hold negotiations to “strengthen and extend” the deal.
European parties have also echoed the same call, stating a deal beyond JCPOA, or a “nuclear agreement plus” was needed, and that they expect Iran to curb not only its nuclear activities but also its missile program and regional policies.
Iran has declared that it will reverse all its measures beyond JPCOA limits, as soon as sanctions are removed or its JCPOA interests are revived by any means.
It has, however, strongly ruled out the possibility of renegotiation over a deal that has already been negotiated for two years.
“Iran’s stance is well-calculated and we support it … JPCOA should not be revised to include other issues,” Lavrov told the new agencies.
Club of Sanctioned States
The Russian foreign minister stressed that JCPOA was a great diplomatic achievement that contributed to non-proliferation efforts.
It has great capacities that must be used, he added, slamming certain US groups that seek to destroy the deal.
Lavrov also said the balance between Iran’s obligations and interests in this international agreement should be sustained.
“Accusing Iran in JCPOA is not in our interest,” he said.
The Russian foreign minister later said Moscow rejects Western unilateral sanctions and supports Iran through measures that he did not name due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Russia is in talks with its partners in the BRICS group and Shanghai Cooperation Organization to establish a club of sanctioned countries and play an active role in countering the imposed restrictions.
“The negative effects of unilateral sanctions of the US, the EU and their allies as well as the illegal nature of their measures need to be reviewed in the United Nations,” he said, adding that Western countries cannot be trusted.
Russia has supported Iran’s economy amid sanctions by establishing a trade system based on national currencies instead of the US dollar, which Lavrov said Washington is abusing at the international level.
The diplomat also condemned the assassination of Iranian top scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, describing it as a terrorist act.
“We deem the assassination a plot that was carried out to destabilize the region, which is already grappling with many issues for years that were caused by the intervention of some [non-regional] countries,” he said.
