Tehran, Moscow Discuss Nuclear Deal Cooperation

Deputy foreign ministers from Iran and Russia reaffirmed their governments' commitment to bilateral cooperation, particularly on the full implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

"Russia attaches great value to its relations with Iran. Cooperation between Tehran and Moscow on the JCPOA will continue," Sergei Ryabkov told his visiting Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, in a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, IRNA reported.

He was using the official title of the landmark agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which has been in effect for over a year to end sanctions against Iran following its implementation of temporary curbs on nuclear activities.

The Russian diplomat highlighted the pact between Iran and major powers as a significant contributing factor to global stability.

"JCPOA is a major issue of our meeting and an important element of stabilizing international relations," TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying. "But we also view this meeting as a possibility for enhancing bilateral dialogue and relations."

The Wednesday talks went ahead against the backdrop of a toughened US stance against the Islamic Republic and the international agreement, following the inauguration of new US President Donald Trump last month.

The hawkish leader has repeatedly criticized the action plan for granting Iran too much and has vowed to either scrap or revise it. 

The US does not have much leeway, as this is not a bilateral agreement, and the other five powers, who were also party to this historic deal, do not see any reason for revising a deal that has worked well so far for all sides. 

On Friday, the Trump administration introduced a new round of sanctions against Tehran, including 25 individuals and entities based in Iran, Lebanon, the UAE and China for allegedly supporting Iran's ballistic missile program.

Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov on Monday rejected allegations by the US that Iran sponsors terrorism, stressing that Tehran must be present in the anti-terror front.

Trump told Fox News in an interview aired at the weekend that Iran had "total disregard" for the United States and labeled Tehran "the number one terrorist state", complaining it was sending arms and weapons "all over the world".