The United States and its regional partners continue to make blatant attempts to provoke Iran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during the press conference on the outcomes of the talks with his Iranian colleague Mohammad Javad Zarif.
"Our American partners, with support of some of their regional allies, make blatant attempts to provoke Iran," the Russian minister said.
In this regard, the Russian top diplomat noted that after Washington's exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it continues to demand that Tehran adhere to all its obligations under the deal. "The JCPOA is a very delicate balance of interests, obligations and compromise. It cannot be pulled apart, when one part is to be adhered to and the other one is not obligatory. This is absolutely unacceptable," Lavrov noted.
"We understand the steps that Iran has to take to partially suspend its voluntary obligations under the JCPOA very well," the Russian minister said. "These steps are a direct consequence of the US’ unacceptable actions regarding a crucial document that was approved by the UN Security Council," TASS cited him as saying.
According to him, Washington makes attempts to provoke Tehran to violate the non-proliferation regime and to undermine cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to "find a pretense to use force". Lavrov added that Russia strongly condemns these attempts. "We would like to note the endurance of our Iranian colleagues, their strict adherence to all international legal norms that exist in the sphere of non-proliferation of mass weapons," he stressed.
"We expect that this behavior of Iran will be commended by other members of the agreement," Lavrov concluded.
