US Demands from Iran ‘Nonsense’: Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described US demands from Iran as “nonsense”, adding that Washington cannot treat a country with a "millennia-old civilization" as it is trying to do.
“Iran cannot be treated in a way Washington is trying to do,” Lavrov said in an interview with a program aired on Russia’s television Channel One on Sunday, Tass reported.
“Not just flagrantly violating the United Nations Charter, refusing to implement the binding United Nations Security Council resolution but rudely addressing demands to Iran, a country with the millennia-old civilization, traditions and immense self-esteem,” he added.
Calling US demands from Iran as “nonsense”, the top Russian diplomat said, “As a matter of fact, the Americans said they would not implement this resolution while Iran must continue to implement what it is to do under this resolution.”
“Moreover, they demand all others who have been granted the right to freely trade with Iran in exchange for what it did in terms of curtailing its nuclear program stop trading with Iran. While Iran must continue to implement what it undertook.”
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.
The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.
