Russian demand for sanctions relief threatens Iran nuclear talks

Lavrov told a news conference that Russia was ready to accept a draft document restoring the deal. But he added that there were “problems that have appeared recently from the point of view of Russia’s interests.”

Under the new agreement, (terms outlined in the draft) the Biden administration is expected to lift sanctions on Iran imposed by President Donald Trump after he pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, and Iran will be expected to revert to restraints on its nuclear program. The original agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, would then be restored.

President Biden pledged to return to the JCPOA, and diplomats have spent months in Vienna negotiating the details.

Ukraine war casts a shadow at Iran nuclear talks

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added a new layer of complication by shifting the geopolitical calculations of the parties. Russia was a party to the original deal along with the United States, Iran, China, Britain, France and Germany.

Given what Lavrov called “the avalanche of aggressive sanctions” imposed by the West on Russia, the country could find itself unable to benefit from the opening up of trade and investment opportunities with Iran.

He said Russia wants “written guarantees at the minimum level of Secretary of State” that the new sanctions won’t impact Russia’s right to “free, fully fledged trade and economic and investment cooperation and military-technical cooperation with Iran.”

It was unclear whether such guarantees would be possible but the demand dimmed hopes a deal was imminent.

Russia had previously sought and been assured that the Ukraine-linked sanctions would not be applied to Russia’s role in overseeing implementation the JCPOA, which gives Russia responsibility for removing and storing Iran’s excess stockpiles of enriched uranium, diplomats say.

Lavrov’s comments on Saturday suggest Russia is seeking a far broader exemption, a senior Western diplomat said. If so, that would be “a serious problem for the negotiation,” he said.

With almost all of the final details now ironed out, any new demand would inevitably prolong the negotiation and “in the current environment any delay is risky,” the diplomat added.