Russia calls on all the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iranian nuclear deal, and the United States to act immediately in order to save the agreement, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd February, 2021) Russia calls on all the parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iranian nuclear deal, and the United States to act immediately in order to save the agreement, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday.
The appeal came as Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreed over the weekend to prolong inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but in a limited capacity. Iran had earlier threatened to suspend all inspections by February 23 if the US sanctions were not lifted by Monday.
"We call on all JCPOA partners, as well as the United States, to be prompt to act," Zakharova was cited as saying by the Russian ministry.
According to the diplomat, the IAEA and Iran have greatly contributed to creating conditions for the start of substantive talks between the current participants in the JCPOA and the United States about Washington's return to the agreement and its compliance with the obligations enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
In 2015, Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union signed the nuclear deal, stipulating the removal of international sanctions from Tehran in exchange for it scaling down its nuclear program. In 2018, Washington unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Tehran responded by gradually abandoning its own commitments.
In December, Iran passed a law to increase its uranium enrichment and stop IAEA inspections of its nuclear sites in a bid to achieve the removal of US economic sanctions. In early January, Iran's atomic energy organization announced that the country had succeeded in enriching uranium at 20 percent at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.
