Despite new US President Joe Biden expressing interest in negotiating a return to the Iran nuclear deal, Washington is yet to initiate talks with Tehran. The deal suffered a major blow in 2018 after former US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the deal and slapped sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Moscow and Tehran are both interested in the complete restoration of the Iran nuclear deal, also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.
"The salvation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear issue is one of the most acute topics on the agenda. Both we and Iran are deeply interested in the full return of signatory states to fulfilling their obligations under the accord", Lavrov said.
The Russian foreign minister stressed that due to both Moscow and Tehran’s role in the region the two states are also interested in expanding a dialogue on a number of other issues, such as security in the Persian Gulf, the resolution of the domestic conflict in Afghanistan, and the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Future of the Iran nuclear accord
The JCPOA gradually eroded following the US withdrawal from the deal in 2018 at previous President Donald Trump’s behest, who claimed the deal was flawed. Over the past three years, Washington has slapped hefty sanctions on the Iranian economy forcing the country to eventually abandon its obligations of non-using advanced centrifuges and adhering to limits on volume and enrichment levels of nuclear fuel produced in the Islamic Republic. Tehran argued that it had the right to such recourse since it no longer benefitted from the JCPOA.
