Iran reacts to Lavrov’s comments on nuclear deal

dpa Tehran Iran has given a muted reaction to Russia’s demands in the the negotiations over the country’s nuclear programme. “We are still waiting for fu...

dpa Tehran Iran has given a muted reaction to Russia’s demands in the the negotiations over the country’s nuclear programme.“We are still waiting for further details [from Moscow],” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Monday.He rejected the notion that Russia was endangering an agreement in the final stage of the negotiations, saying that “Russia’s position in the negotiations has always been constructive,” Iranian news agency ISNA reported.The controversy goes back to comments made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday. He had demanded guarantees from the US that Russia should not suffer a disadvantage when Washington lifts the sanctions on Iran once the Iran nuclear deal has been restored.According to Lavrov, the current sanctions on Russia in connection with the war on Ukraine should not be allowed to restrict Russia’s right to free trade or to economic, military and technological cooperation with Iran.Lavrov’s demands caused speculation that the expected accord at the negotiations in Vienna could be delayed or even destroyed because of the crisis in Ukraine.Iranian politicians warned the chief negotiator for Iran, Ali Bagheri, not to jeopardize the deal - and, with it, the end of the current economic sanctions - on account of relations with Moscow.For months the remaining partners - China, Germany, France, Britain, and Russia - have been negotiating in Vienna in an effort to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.For the deal to be reinstated, the US would have to lift the sanctions on Tehran, and Iran in turn would have to comply with all the regulations in the agreement.Last week, it had looked like a breakthrough had finally been achieved: Indeed, there had been talk of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the involved countries in which a deal would be signed.