Russia FM calls to lift sanctions on Iran

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, yesterday called for all sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran to be lifted, unconditionally, including sanctions targeting foreign firms that deal with Tehran.

“All unilateral sanctions that were imposed by Washington in direct violation of the JCPOA [nuclear deal] should be unconditionally lifted. This is the topic that is currently being discussed in Vienna, and the implementation of this task by the US, the return of the US to the full implementation of its obligations under [UN Security Council] Resolution 2231 will allow Iran to return to full implementation of the voluntary steps that Tehran has pledged to take in accordance with this resolution,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, in Tehran.

“This applies not only to the sanctions that were illegally imposed directly against Iran but also to all those sanctions that were imposed against foreign companies for cooperating with Iran,” he added.

READ: Iran to begin 60% uranium enrichment after nuclear site incident

The Russian top diplomat has slammed the new EU sanctions against Iran, warning that they could undermine ongoing talks over returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name for the 2015 nuclear deal.

“If this decision is deliberately made in the midst of the negotiations that are continuing in Vienna to save the JCPOA, then [….] it’s already a mistake, which, as you know, is worse than a crime,” he said.

Lavrov called on all parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, including Iran, to abide by the agreement and implement an international resolution related to it.

In 2018, then US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed severe sanctions previously lifted under the agreement. This forced Iran to increase uranium enrichment which had been limited under the terms of the pact.