Iranian ambassador says Moscow-Tehran relations unchanged in case of JCPOA with EU

Iran-Russia relations will remain unchanged even if Tehran concludes a nuclear deal with the European Union (EU) countries by renewing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program (JCPOA). Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali said on November 19.

"No, we are two neighbors, and of course we have found our own way to work together both because of the element of neighborhood and because of the common approaches that Iran and Russia have. We are working together and no foreign factor will affect the increase of cooperation and relations between our countries," Jalali told RIA Novosti."

Earlier on November 16, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran and European countries plan to resume talks on returning to the 2015 JCPOA on Iran's nuclear program, compliance with which was impossible after then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.

The day before, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Raphael Grossi toured two Iranian nuclear facilities in Natanz and Fordow. Grossi visited the Natanz nuclear power plant and the uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, which is dug into a mountain 100 kilometers south of Tehran.

Earlier, on November 14, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said at a meeting with the IAEA director general that there were no plans to build nuclear weapons. According to him, Iran has never sought to possess nuclear capabilities. Grossi said at the time that a nuclear deal with Iran was possible, but that the area should be well tested.