TEHRAN - Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov says the United States must swiftly and irreversibly remove all “illegal” sanctions it has imposed on Iran.
Lavrov made the remarks while addressing the participants at the Moscow Conference on Nonproliferation in a video message.
“Washington has not given up on the policy of ‘maximum pressure’ in relation to the nuclear deal with Iran,” the Russian foreign minister said, referring to former U.S. president Donald Trump’s policy vis-a-vis Iran after he unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The top Russian diplomat added that Moscow strongly urges the American side to “lift all illegal sanctions against Iran as soon as possible and irreversibly and ensure the strict implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231” which endorsed the JCPOA.
He emphasized that the lifting of illegal sanctions would pave the way for Tehran’s reciprocal “defrosting” of its voluntary commitments under the nuclear deal.
Iran maintains that it is necessary for the other side to offer some guarantees that it will remain committed to any agreement that is reached.