Iran says Russia won't block nuclear deal
Iran's top diplomat was in Moscow in what appeared to be a push to bring Russia back onboard the nuclear talks after they were stalled presumably by Russia's "unrelated" demands.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Moscow "will by no means block" a potential agreement that is meant to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"There will be absolutely no link between the developments in Ukraine … and the Vienna talks," the Iranian foreign minister declared during a joint presser with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow.
The statements and the visit itself came after the JCPOA revival talks in Vienna hit a snag, with negotiators declaring a break despite 11 months of marathon diplomacy that had brought the parties to the cusp of a deal.
Russia is accused of effectively triggering the impasse by demanding that any new deal must guarantee that Moscow's trade with Tehran will remain unaffected by Western sanctions levied on the Kremlin over its war on Ukraine.
