With nuclear talks in Vienna still ongoing, albeit no longer in the headlines due to the war in Ukraine, an agreement now appears within reach.
On Tuesday, Russian officials announced that they had received “guarantees” from the US delegation regarding sanctions on Iran, allowing it to continue to trade with the Islamic regime.
“We received written guarantees. They are included in the text of the agreement itself on the resumption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program,” Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, told reporters at a press conference alongside his Iranian counterpart in Moscow.
Earlier this month, Russia requested such a written guarantee from Washington that its trade, investment and military cooperation with Iran would not be limited by US sanctions over the Ukraine war.
Also on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that sanctions on Russia would have a direct effect on Russia’s demands vis-à-vis the nuclear deal with Iran.
“Sanctions against Russia directly affect the interests of our country in the context of that deal,” Peskov said. “The sanctions must be taken into account. This is a new aspect that cannot be ignored, that must be taken into account.”
Last week, talks in Vienna were put on hold after the United States seized two Iranian ships carrying oil, claiming that they were breaching sanctions.
The Iranian delegation apparently warned the US not to seize the cargos of the two Greek-managed ships in Houston and the Bahamas, just as it appeared that negotiations on removing most sanctions were about to yield concrete results.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Tuesday that the talks would continue regardless.
“The interruption of talks can pave the way for the resolution of issues and the return of all parties to their nuclear deal commitments," he said during a news conference in Moscow with Lavrov.