The post Russian Diplomat Informs of JCPOA Joint Commission Meeting appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said renewing a UN arms embargo against Iran which is to expire in October 2020 is out of the question.

“For us, the case of the existing ban on arms deliveries to and from Iran was closed with the adoption of Resolution 2231. The embargo regime expires in October this year,” Ryabkov said on Thursday, according to Sputnik news.

He criticized the US for its selective approach to Resolution 2231, noting that Washington itself had stopped adhering to its provisions two years ago and has since spared no effort to prevent other nations from remaining in compliance with the resolution by introducing unilateral sanctions.

“Instead of discussing which provisions of Resolution 2231 could be used to achieve certain political goals, the US would be better off ensuring the full and comprehensive implementation of the provisions of this resolution, and return to full compliance with the JCPOA”, the senior Russian diplomat said.

Recently US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington technically remained a “participant” in the deal, known as the JCPOA, in order to use a mechanism embedded within the accord to make the UN maintain an arms embargo on Tehran.

“We cannot allow the Islamic Republic of Iran to purchase conventional weapons in six months. President Obama should never have agreed to end the UN arms embargo,” Pompeo claimed. “We are prepared to exercise all of our diplomatic options to ensure the arms embargo stays in place at the UN Security Council.”

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, in defiance of global criticism, and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran as part of the agreement.

In response to the move, Tehran has so far rowed back on its nuclear commitments four times in compliance with Articles 26 and 36 but stressed that its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from the sanctions.

The post Russia Rules Out Extension of UN Arms Embargo on Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov expressed concerns over the decision of the European signatories to the JCPOA to trigger dispute mechanism.

The post Ryabkov: trigger mechanism may ruin JCPOA appeared first on Iran News Daily.

According To Iran News, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed the latest developments around the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers.

Araqchi made the remarks in a four-hour meeting with Ryabkov in Moscow on Thursday, according to Russian media.

During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat referred to French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to save the nuclear agreement, and said Iran always welcomes any idea and initiative that can contribute to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

However, he added, “such initiatives are acceptable only if they are balanced and realistic and serve Iran’s interests under the JCPOA.”

“If Iran’s demands are not met, the Islamic Republic will continue to reduce its JCPOA commitments based on its right enshrined in Article 36 of the accord, and no one should doubt Iran’s resolve to do that,” he said.

Araqchi stressed that the path for diplomacy is still open.

“However, this path is getting narrower and more impassable every day, and the countries remaining in the JCPOA should know they have little time, if they are serious about maintaining the deal,” he warned.

The Russian diplomat, for his part, blasted Washington’s withdrawal from the multilateral agreement, and described it as a stark violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

“Russia supports the JCPOA as a great achievement of multilateralism and will keep in touch with other JCPOA parties in order to save the deal,” Ryabkov noted.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 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.

The post Top Iranian, Russian Diplomats Discuss JCPOA in Moscow appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Ryabkov made the remarks in a meeting with Mehdi Sanaei, Tehran’s ambassador to Moscow.

France and Germany have agreed to SPV which is a special payment channel created by Europe as part of its efforts to keep trade flowing with Iran in defiance of U.S. sanctions.

The German magazine Wirtschaftswoche has reported it has been agreed that the related company be located in France and its director to be chosen from Germany.

Bloomberg reported on Monday that European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said the SPV will be completed by the end of the year.

“I would expect this instrument to be established in the coming weeks, so before the end of the year, as a way to protect and promote legitimate business with Iran,” she said.

The Wall Street Journal reported in November that British officials were also mulling over joining France and Germany in order to rescue the European attempt to circumvent the U.S. sanctions and salvage the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran and the European side have been discussing ways to conduct non-dollar trade in order to offset the U.S. sanctions.

Abdolnaser Hemmati, governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), told a meeting of economists on Monday that Iran has made mutual monetary agreements with some countries to abolish U.S. dollar in financial transactions and the issue will be incrementally generalized to other countries in future.

The post Russian diplomat says SPV is essential to do business with Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“We are treating with concern and condemnation the United States’ new attempts to force Russia to make concessions in the sphere of international security and strategic stability via blackmailing. The Russian side has repeatedly said that the US side has no reasons for accusing Russia of allegedly violating this treaty. After all these years, they have failed to substantiate their fanciful claims by clear explanations why they are doing this,” Sputnik quoted him as saying on Sunday.

Earlier, Donald Trump announced the country’s exit from the INF treaty due to alleged Russian violations.

The 1987 INF Treaty prohibits the development, deployment and testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 300 and 3,400 miles.

Russia and the US have repeatedly accused each other of violating the treaty. The administration of former US president Barack Obama, however, decided not to abandon the agreement.

The post Russia says US withdrawal from Nuclear Forces Treaty ‘very dangerous’ appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reassured on Thursday that Iran’s presence in Syria is at the invitation of this country’s lawful government and Russia treats with great respect Iran’s steps to provide its own security.

The post Russia respects Iran pro-security presence in Syria appeared first on Iran News Daily.