Russia believes Iranian nuclear deal under threat

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Russia believes that the Iranian nuclear deal is under threat of collapse.

This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting of the Russian International Affairs Council: RIAC, RIA Novosti reported.

“Major agreements that we consider to be an example of constructive multilateral cooperation, in particular, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program, are under threat of scrapping,” he said.

The Iran nuclear deal was negotiated in July 2015 between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the U.S., France, Britain, Russia and China – as well as Germany. By ratifying the plan, Iran agreed to scale down its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

The nuclear deal has become a hot topic for discussion since U.S. President Donald Trump, who constantly voices anti-Iranian rhetoric, took the office.

Despite eight reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which confirm Tehran’s compliance, on October 13, Trump, long been known as the main critic of the landmark deal, declared his view of the JCPOA, which was reached under his predecessor - Barack Obama.

Trump announced that he would not certify Iran’s compliance with the deal. At the same time he did not challenge the compliance of Iran at the international level. The move paves the way for Congress to put new restrictions on Iran. It now has less than 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran which were lifted under the nuclear accord in 2016.

The other parties to the agreement - Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union - have all reaffirmed their commitment to it and called on the U.S. not to step out.

However, it is believed that Trump would not recommend the Congress to re-impose sanctions in order to reach a compromise with many congressional leaders who stand for keeping the deal at least with some changes.

In case sanctions are applied, the U.S. would find itself in breach of its commitments. This means a unilateral withdrawal from the agreement, which will damage the reputation of the U.S. in the eyes of world community.