Russian ambassador calls success of nuclear deal impossible without Russia and China's participation

Without the participation of Russia and China in the process of negotiations on the nuclear deal with Iran (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA), it will not be possible to achieve positive results. Russian Ambassador to Iran Alexei Dedov said this in an interview with RIA Novosti on February 12.

"We proceed from the fact that without Russia and China, these kinds of negotiations will never reach their goal and will not be productive," Dedov said.

He added that the Russian side insists on continuing the negotiation process in the 5+1 format (five members of the UN Security Council and Germany). Dedov noted that Western countries are trying to change this format and wean Russia and China off the nuclear deal.

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Earlier, on February 4, US President Donald Trump signed a national security memorandum that he said puts "maximum pressure" on Iran's nuclear program. He noted that Washington cannot allow Tehran to have and build nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump's fears of nuclear weapons production futile as the country is committed to its non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and Iran's current religious ban (fatwa) on the activity.

The Axios portal reported on Jan. 2 that then-former U.S. leader Joe Biden had discussed with his national security team plans for a possible strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Araghchi, for his part, then called possible attacks on the facilities in question the biggest mistake in world history. He also warned that Iran would retaliate in the same way in case of a strike.

Iran has also repeatedly sent signals to the United States about the possibility of dialogue on the nuclear program, hoping to ease Washington's sanctions pressure, which has worsened the situation in the country's economy. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic said on January 29 that the country had not received signals from the U.S. side about resuming negotiations on the issue. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or nuclear deal was signed in 2015 by Russia, Iran, the United States, Britain, France, China and Germany. In 2018, the states under President Trump's first term unilaterally withdrew from it.