Lavrov pointed to attempts by the West to disrupt the negotiations between the United States and Iran.

The West is specifically doing everything to ensure that there are no negotiations between the United States and Iran, and that Tehran does not resume normal cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This was announced on October 8 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview for the Bridges to the East project.

"The West is specifically doing everything to ensure that these negotiations with the United States do not take place (although the Iranians have always been ready for this) and that Iran does not resume normal cooperation with the IAEA," Lavrov said. The text of his interview is provided by the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The minister also noted Iran's willingness to negotiate and stressed that the West seemed to be deliberately trying to provoke a conflict. In addition, he added that the resumption of sanctions against Iran by Western countries is a gross abuse.

"They punished a country that did not violate anything and did everything until the West withdrew from the deal," Lavrov concluded.

Silence and oppression: The United States refuses to engage in dialogue with Iran

With the prospect of sanctions returning, Iran plans to withdraw from the NPT

Earlier, on September 19, the UN Security Council rejected a draft resolution on maintaining the lifting of sanctions against Iran.

Prior to that, on September 16, the US Department of Energy announced that Iran's nuclear program, including all uranium enrichment facilities, should be completely shut down. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the country must cooperate with the IAEA and comply with its obligations under safety guarantees.

On September 23, US President Donald Trump declared that Iran cannot possess its own nuclear weapons. He added that from the very beginning of his presidential term he has been advocating the suspension of Iran's nuclear program. On the same day, Iran announced that it had no plans to obtain nuclear weapons. Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that negotiations with the United States will not benefit Iran at the moment and Tehran does not intend to succumb to external pressure on the issue of the right to enrich uranium.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.