Lavrov calls on participants in Iran nuclear deal to cooperate in defending legitimate interests

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. The legitimate interests of each participant in the Iran nuclear deal are enshrined in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the parties need to cooperate in defending them, Russia’s Acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with Iranian top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday. "I understand perfectly well that Iran wishes to protect its legitimate interests," Lavrov said. "I would like to point out that Russia and other participants in the deal - China and the European countries - also have their legitimate interests enshrined in this agreement," he added. "This is why we need to cooperate in defending our legitimate interests," Lavrov said. Iran nuclear deal issue In 2015, Iran and six major powers (five member states of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China - and Germany) agreed on the final Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program, which particularly stipulates the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program. US President Donald Trump has many times criticized the deal accusing Iran of violating it. He particularly said that it was "one of the most incompetently drawn deals" that he had ever seen. On May 8, Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which imposed restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activities in return for the removal of the United Nations Security Council’s sanctions and unilateral US sanctions. According to Trump, the JCPOA left the door open for Iran to circumvent restrictions and develop a nuclear bomb. The US president said that old sanctions would be restored and new ones would be introduced in case Tehran attempted to pursue its nuclear ambitions. At the same time, Trump called for making a new agreement. In the wake of Trump’s decision, the leaders of Great Britain, Germany and France - Theresa May, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron - called on other participants in the deal to continue fulfilling it. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran would not abandon the JCPOA and would continue to comply with its obligations. Lavrov, in turn, said that Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA would violate the United Nations Security Council’s resolution. He added that Russia would seek to maintain the agreement despite US plans to resume sanctions against Iran. Read more