Russia Urges West to Address Iran’s Legitimate Demands Regarding Nuclear Deal

The Russian Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying that the West is raising doubts about Russia's commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) rather than admitting its own mistakes, in a post on its Twitter account on Friday.

“Doubts of #Russia’s commitment to #JCPOA is a card played by those who can’t admit their own mistakes. We suggest our Western colleagues focus their energy on addressing #Iran’s legitimate demands regarding the draft restoration agreement,” the Mission quoted Zakharova as saying.

Washington left the JCPOA in 2018 and began to implement what it called the “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions against the Islamic Republic, depriving the country of the economic benefits of the agreement, including the removal of sanctions, for which Iran had agreed to certain caps on its nuclear activities.

In the meantime, the other parties to the deal, in particular France, Britain and Germany, only paid lip service to safeguarding Iran’s economic dividends as promised under the JCPOA, prompting Iran – after an entire year of “strategic patience” – to reduce its nuclear obligations in a legal move under the deal.

The talks began in the Austrian capital last April on the assumption that the US, under the Joe Biden administration, is willing to repeal the so-called maximum pressure policy pursued by former president Donald Trump.

Tehran says it won’t settle for anything less than the removal of all US sanctions in a verifiable manner. It also wants guarantees that Washington would not abandon the agreement again.

Earlier this month, the talks were paused for an undetermined time despite reports suggesting that they were in final stages.

The Europeans pinned the blame on Russia for the suspension of the talks, citing Moscow’s demand for guarantees that its trade with Tehran would not be affected by Western sanctions over the operation in Ukraine.

Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Moscow has received guarantees from Washington it can continue its nuclear cooperation deals with Iran.

Meanwhile, the US State Department confirmed that the Biden administration would “not sanction Russian participation in nuclear projects that are part of resuming full implementation of the JCPOA.”