Need for Regional Coop. to Counter US Interference

President Hassan Rouhani stressed the need to promote regional cooperation for peace and stability as a strategic measure to counter the United States’ unilateralism and interference.
In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran on Tuesday, the president stressed that the security and stability of the region need to be ensured by the regional countries. 
He also called for continued cooperation and consultations between Tehran and Moscow as two influential countries to help address regional crises, including in Yemen and Syria, President.ir reported. 
Referring to the expiration of the United Nations arms embargo on Tehran since October last year, Rouhani highlighted the need for military and defensive collaboration between the two neighbors.
He said Iran and Russia also need to use the available resources to deepen their ties in all sectors in line with their mutual interests and away from foreign pressure.
Along this line, he added, it is essential to speed up the implementation of joint projects in oil, energy, transport and nuclear sectors, using the capacity of private enterprises. 
The president then pointed to Moscow’s achievements in the fight against Covid-19 and vaccine production, calling for faster delivery of Russian-manufactured jabs as well as the launch of a joint production line in Iran.
The Russian diplomat said there is no limit to Tehran-Moscow relations, including in technical and defense sectors, adding that both countries pursue shared and similar goals regarding regional and international cooperation.   
“Russia is serious about implementing agreements toward the expansion of ties, and joint projects will be carried out in a timely and resolute manner,” he added. 

JCPOA Revival 

During the meeting, Rouhani thanked Russia for its support in negotiations on the revival of 2015 nuclear deal, saying bilateral cooperation will definitely be effective in efforts to save the accord. 
The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has been faltering since the US pulled out in 2018 and reimposed harsh anti-Iran sanctions, which Tehran later responded by surpassing the deal’s limits. 
Negotiations are currently ongoing in Vienna, Austria, between Iran and the remaining parties to JCPOA, including Russia, which will separately hold talks with the US to work out a feasible process for sanctions lifting by the US and nuclear implementation by Iran. 
“We want the situation and commitments to return to 2015 … and whatever agreed at that time be accepted. We would neither accept less than this, nor seek to attain more,” Rouhani said.   
Lavrov said the only solution in Moscow’s view is the “complete and unconditional” return of the US to JCPOA and its implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed it. 
“We believe it is completely unhelpful to ask Iran to accept new conditions within the JCPOA framework or take on further commitments under the deal,” he said.
He added that any supplementary or additional document regarding other issues, such as regional policies or military development, could be reviewed outside the JCPOA framework and separately with the participation of regional countries to ensure the security of the region and the Persian Gulf.
Lavrov had earlier met his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, and the two hailed the unprecedented level of cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.  
They also discussed the prospects of bilateral ties in political, economic, human rights and other sectors, with special focus on joint projects on energy transfer. 
Referring to the US approach to JCPOA, Zarif stressed that Americans must realize that sanctions do not act as leverage to win concessions out of Iran, but are a burden on the shoulders of the US foreign policy that has backfired.