Iran's Foreign Minister Praises Russia's Role In Preserving Iranian Nuclear Deal

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2020) Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Thursday thanked Russia for helping preserve the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iranian nuclear deal, during a press conference after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"We had a good conversation. We discussed issues related to the JCPOA. We noted Russia's very important and key role in maintaining this plan. We thank the Russian Federation for this role. Next month, in October, Russia will chair the [UN] Security Council," Zarif said.

The Iranian minister added that Tehran was hoping that Moscow would continue counteracting the US attempts to undermine the agreement.

In 2015, Iran signed the JCPOA with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and the European Union. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption. In 2018, the United States abandoned its conciliatory stance on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and implementing hard-line policies against Tehran.

Earlier this year, the US tried to campaign for the restoration of international sanctions on Iran, specifically, an extension to the arms embargo, but all of its draft resolutions ended up being rejected.