The Kremlin warns the United States that any move to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries will deal a heavy blow to international security and non-proliferation efforts.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said any US measure against the nuclear deal would have “very negative consequences.”
“This could seriously aggravate the situation around the Iranian nuclear dossier," he said.
“Such actions will unequivocally damage the atmosphere of predictability, security, stability and non-proliferation in the entire world,” he added.
The spokesman emphasized that Russia would continue its policy to ensure the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The Kremlin warning comes hours before US President Donald Trump is expected to deliver a speech to criticize the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The deal, agreed between Iran and the six permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – plus Germany lifts economic sanctions imposed in 2005 in exchange for curbs to Tehran's nuclear program. It was later endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Trump has called the deal an “embarrassment” to the US, and is expected to refuse to certify Iran’s commitment to the deal during a White House speech later on Friday.
If Trump refuses to certify the agreement, the US Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to restore the anti-Iran sanctions Washington has agreed to waive.
Russia fully committed to nuclear deal: Lavrov
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country would remain fully committed to the JCPOA.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif held a telephone conversation before Trump’s speech.
It added that the Russian foreign minister expressed his country’s firm determination to implement the JCPOA in the form in which it was approved by the United Nations Security Council.
Iran’s parliament speaker has warned the United States against walking away from the 2015 nuclear deal, saying if Washington fails to abide by the accord, nothing will be left of it.
In a Friday meeting with Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of Russia’s Parliament, Ali Larijani slammed Washington for repeatedly violating the nuclear deal since it took effect in January 2016.
“If the US fails agreements on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, nothing will remain from the deal," said Larijani.
The two senior parliamentarians further discussed Iran-Russia parliamentary ties and other bilateral issues, including Washington’s hostile policies against Tehran and Moscow.
The deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries -- the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany -- lifted nuclear-related sanctions against Iran, which, in turn, placed certain limits on its nuclear energy program.
Trump has called it an “embarrassment” to the US, and is expected to refuse to certify Iran’s commitment to the deal during a White House speech later in the day.
If Trump refuses to certify the deal, the Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to restore the sanctions against the Islamic Republic that the US has agreed to waive.
Larijani added, “We would like to thank Russia for its position, as well as (Foreign Minister) Sergei Lavrov, who participated in the P5+1 meeting in New York.”
According to the Iranian speaker, during the group’s most recent meeting, Lavrov said "openly and transparently that the US had violated JCPOA.”
The Russian speaker slammed Washington’s stance on the JCPOA, as well as the use of sanctions as a tool to advance personal agendas. He said Moscow was against the use of double standards, and understood Iran’s concerns.
Trump to step back?
Meanwhile, the Middle East Eye news portal quoted US officials as saying Friday that Trump will go ahead and “decertify the deal,” but will shy away from his toughest threat of killing the agreement.
Besides the “decertification” of Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, Trump is also reportedly expected to blacklist Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
The officials cited in the Friday report however said Trump will stop short of blacklisting the IRGC, but will rather levy limited sanctions.
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