Intel: How Trump's 'maximum pressure' campaign is bringing Iran and Russia closer together

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's long-planned visit to Moscow today quickly turned into a grievance-sharing session with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov about the Donald Trump administration.

Coming just as Iran announced it was rolling back some of its nuclear commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal and as the United States unveiled new sanctions on Iran's metallurgical sector, the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) dominated the agenda. Lavrov called the situation unacceptable and “triggered by the irresponsible behavior of the United States,” while stressing that Moscow “appreciated the Iranian commitment” to stay in the deal regardless of the announced caveats.