Iran’s Zarif, Russia’s Lavrov Discuss JCPOA, Middle East

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov discussed the Middle East and the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in a phone conversation.

News ID: 67593

Date: 18 December 2017 - 21:27

"(The two ministers) stressed their mutual commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Tehran scrupulously honors its commitments under it, as confirmed by the IAEA," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, the Tass news agency reported.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA.

The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation has been hampered mainly due to US policies.

According to the statement, "They also continued to exchange views on the current situation in the Middle East with an emphasis on exploring for ways to unblock crisis situations.”

Iran and Russia cooperation in fighting terrorism in Syria has helped put an end to Takfiri terrorism in the war-torn region. Tehran and Moscow in cooperation with Ankara initiated a diplomatic effort for resolution of the Syria crisis.