Zarif, Lavrov Scorn Pompeo’s Plan for Nuclear Deal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov dismissed as “delusional” a plan that the US state secretary has proposed to keep Washington a participant state in the JCPOA in order to extend the UN sanctions against Tehran.
In a telephone conversation on Tuesday, the top Iranian and Russian diplomats talked about the latest political developments in Afghanistan and the ongoing efforts to establish reconciliation and political consensus in that country.
Zarif and Lavrov also held consultations about the US’ new delusional plan for the JCPOA, and dismissed it as rejected and impractical.
It came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he is preparing a legal argument that the US would remain a participant in the JCPOA –already renounced by the US president- as part of an intricate strategy to pressure the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran.
According to Pompeo’s plan, expected to be opposed by many of the US’ European allies, Washington would, in essence, claim it legally remains a “participant state” in the nuclear accord only for the purposes of invoking a “snapback” that would restore the UN sanctions on Iran that were in place before the nuclear deal.
Russia has already told American and European officials it is eager to resume conventional arms sales to Iran.
