Moscow says Washington must first return to nuclear deal for Iran to comply

Russia said Tuesday that the United States must lift sanctions against Tehran and comply with the Iran nuclear deal as a condition for the Islamic Republic to rejoin the accord.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Iranian counterpart that he hoped that “the United States returns to full compliance with the corresponding Security Council resolution, creating conditions for Iran to meet its obligations under the nuclear deal.”

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The Iran nuclear deal was agreed in 2015 between Iran, the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany.

It offered sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and guarantees it would not seek an atomic bomb.

The agreement largely fell apart after former US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew and ordered officials to reimpose tough penalties against Tehran as part of his administration’s “maximum pressure” policy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed Russia’s position Tuesday saying that if Washington lifts sanctions on Iran, “we will return to the full implementation of our obligations” under the agreement.

Washington has suggested it is prepared to rejoin the accord and President Joe Biden’s pick for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, said at a Senate confirmation hearing this month that Trump’s policies had made Iran “more dangerous.”

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