Iranian media has reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “has reiterated Moscow’s support for the revival of the landmark deal originally signed by Iran and six other world powers back in 2015.”
The report comes on the eve of a meeting in China between Iranian, Russian, and Chinese officials and after joint naval drills between the three countries. It also comes as a letter from US President Donald Trump is expected to be delivered to the Iranian regime and as the Supreme Leader in Iran has rejected a deal with the US.
“We discussed the situation in the Persian Gulf as well as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” Lavrov said this week. The comments were reported in Russian state media TASS and were picked up by Iranian media, indicating that Iranian state officials likely want to entertain this Russian concept.
According to the reports, the Russian foreign minister said he was in “favor of resuming the format that developed the original deal endorsed by the Security Council and Iran” and that “we’ll see how it goes.”
Lavrov added that “the US wants to link a new nuclear deal with Iran to oblige it not to support (resistance) groups in the Middle East, but this option will not work. It is worrying [that] the Americans are willing to attach political conditions to this new deal.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian Supreme Leader has continued to oppose any deal and has said the US is seeking to deceive Iran.
TASS noted on March 12 that in an interview, Lavrov told US bloggers Mario Nawfal, Larry Johnson, and Andrew Napolitano that “Russia has discussed the situation around Iran’s nuclear deal with the United States and maintains some communication with the Europeans.”
The news agency added that Lavrov said, “we are in favor of restoring the original program from which the Americans dropped during the first Trump government. There are some contacts on the European side.”
UAE tries to bridge Iran-US talks
The UAE’s Anwar Gargash is on a trip to Iran this week, and this is expected to be linked to the US outreach effort. Gargash, a top advisor to the president of the UAE, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“There is no detail of the issues discussed by Araghchi and Gargash in their meeting or the reason behind the trio on Wednesday,” Iranian state media reported.
“Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting earlier today, Araghchi hinted about a letter from US President Donald Trump, saying Iran had not yet received it and that a representative from an Arab country was expected to deliver the letter.”