BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 6. Should Russia and the US engage in discussions regarding Iran's nuclear program, Russia will prioritize Iran's interests, Abbas Moqtadaei, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told media, Trend reports.
Moqtadaei underscored that Iran has a long-standing strategic agreement with Russia, and nations with such partnerships keep their allies' interests close to their chest when dealing with other countries.
He further explained that while current discussions between the US and Russia are centered around the Ukraine issue, it is incorrect to compare Ukraine with Iran, as there are distinct differences between the two.
The Iranian MP also noted that no country can make decisions about Iran’s interests without considering Iran’s opinion.
On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018.
By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement.
Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 20–30 percent.
Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction.
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