US Still Engaging with Russia on Iran Nuclear Deal: State Dept. Official

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that Moscow may grasp that the sanctions imposed on Russia over its ongoing military action in Ukraine have should not affect the nuclear agreement’s implementation.

The official said the US would not sanction Russian participation in nuclear projects that are part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), when it is fully implemented, according to Reuters.

The US has accused Russia of undermining efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal. In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the US accusations were untrue.

Lavrov made the remarks following talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow on Tuesday.

The Russian foreign minister said Moscow had received written American assurances that sanctions against Russia over Ukraine would not hinder cooperation within the framework of the nuclear agreement.

“We continue to engage with Russia on a return to full implementation of the JCPOA,” the senior US State Department official said when asked about Lavrov’s comments. “We would of course not sanction Russian participation in nuclear projects that are part of resuming full implementation of the JCPOA.”

“We cannot provide assurances beyond that to Russia and have no comment on Lavrov’s publicly reported remarks,” the official added. “Perhaps it is now clear to Moscow that, as we have said publicly, the new Russia-related sanctions are unrelated to the JCPOA and should not have any impact on its implementation.”

Iran’s foreign minister said in a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, in Moscow that Russia had been playing a “very positive and constructive” role since the start of the latest round of negotiations in Vienna.

Russia, Amir-Abdollahian added, would continue to stand by Iran until the end of the Vienna process and throw its support behind a final deal, which can be inked if an agreement is reached with the US side on the remaining outstanding issues.