Iran wants assurances by Russia that its interests ‘will be defended’ in nuclear deal
Russia is trying to keep the landmark 2015 accord alive in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision, pushing it into rare co-operation with Europe
Moscow — Iran’s foreign minister said on a visit to Moscow on Monday he was seeking "assurances" from the backers of the country’s nuclear deal after the US pulled out. Russia is trying to keep the landmark 2015 accord alive in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision, pushing it into rare co-operation with Europe. "The final aim of these negotiations is to seek assurances that the interests of the Iranian nation will be defended," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at the start of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. After the talks, Zarif praised the "excellent cooperation" between Moscow and Tehran and said Lavrov had promised him to "defend and keep the agreement". Lavrov, for his part, said Russia and Europe had a duty to "jointly defend their legal interests" in terms of the deal. Zarif’s diplomatic tour took him to Beijing at the weekend and will see him visit Brussels later in the week, as the international backers of the agreement scramble to save it. After ...
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