Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian will lead the way to Moscow today, the ministry told, days after deliberations on an Iran nuclear deal hampered amid new Russian pressures. “Russia has brought about its official demands vociferously and apparent, and this needs to be communicated among all parties to the 2015 consensus, like all the injunctions that have been suggested by other parties,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh informed correspondents.
More than 10 months of discussions in Vienna have conveyed major powers close to reviving the landmark 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on overseeing Iran’s nuclear program. But the negotiations were thwarted after Russia on March 5. It dictated guarantees that Western sanctions imposed following its incursion of Ukraine would not harm its trade with Iran. On March 11, the European Union’s foreign policy director Josep Borrell tweeted that the halt was “due to external aspects,” even though “a definitive text is almost ready and, on the table,”.
“If they (the US) declare openly that they have made a decision, then all the delegations can retreat to Vienna” to finalize a consensus, he told. “We are not at the point of confirming the consensus,” he added. Russia and Iran have seen theirs ties enhanced in recent years, and Moscow plays a primary role in executing the 2015 pact, in particular by obtaining excess enriched uranium from Tehran. The JCPOA sought to ensure Iran would not be able to evolve a nuclear weapon, which it has always denied pursuing. On Saturday, Britain, France and Germany cautioned against moves to “exploit” the JCPOA, seen as an implicit indication to Russia.