Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that it is currently unrealistic to expect any additional agreements to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.
Lavrov’s statement comes at a time when Moscow is facing angry criticism from both its allies and opponents in Tehran after endorsing a UAE initiative calling for a resolution to the issue of the three islands in the Arab Gulf.
The top Russian diplomat blamed the US for the nuclear deal’s failure.
Lavrov said he was not very optimistic about possibilities of the resumption of the JCPOA, or the Iran nuclear deal, due to uncertainty regarding the policy of the US administration following the 2024 presidential election there.
“I doubt it would be very realistic to expect this (revival of the JCPOA), with a new administration [potentially] coming to power in the United States in a year’s time,” Lavrov said at a press conference on the sidelines of ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta.
“Who knows whether that administration will be Democratic or Republican. And nobody can guarantee that this new administration would refrain from using the trick of withdrawing from the agreement again,” added Lavrov.
According to the top Russian diplomat, the JCPOA was simply killed by the US, which, “despite all requirements under the UN Charter, refused to implement the resolution, adopted by the consensus,” which finalized this agreement.
“When the new administration of [US President Joe] Biden came to power, they said they were ready to restore the program, but instead of making a decision to fully revive the resolution and the JCPOA itself, they have been bargaining for something extra from Tehran,” Lavrov lamented.
Earlier this month, Western and Iranian officials stated that the US, after failing to revive the agreement, engaged in talks with Iran in an attempt to ease tensions by identifying steps that could limit the Iranian nuclear program and lead to the release of US citizens held by Tehran for years, as well as the unfreezing of some Iranian assets abroad.
“We would only welcome a scenario wherein this relationship could be normalized, but, as I said, that has little to do with the JCPOA,” said Lavrov on the matter.
