MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia will do its utmost to convince Iran not to withdraw from a two-year international agreement curbing its nuclear program, member of the Russian upper house of parliament's foreign affairs committee Oleg Morozov told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"I think we will do everything possible to convince Iran to maintain the status-quo… The uncontrolled spread of nuclear technologies is not at all a boon for all, including Russia," Morozov said.
"The US policy of indiscriminate sanctions and pressure on the third countries will make no good and contribute to emerging of new areas of tension… The United States impose conditions on the others from a position of strength, giving no guarantees of preserving sovereignty of these countries," Morozov said.
According to the lawmaker, Iran's withdrawal from the nuclear deal had become possible, because Tehran saw no other ways to secure its national interests.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in an address to lawmakers earlier in the day that Tehran could leave the nuclear deal "in hours" if the United States continued expanding sanctions.
On July 14, 2015, Iran and China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Tehran's nuclear program. The 2015 accord stipulated a gradual lifting of anti-Iran sanctions in exchange for Tehran's ensuring the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
On July 29, the US Senate approved a bill on new non-nuclear sanctions against 18 individuals and entities in Iran over the country's missile program and human rights violations. The move has been widely criticized by the Iranian senior officials, claiming that the US bill violated the provisions of the JCPOA, and Tehran vowed to impose retaliatory measures against the US individuals and entities. On Sunday, the Iranian parliament voted for allocating $520 million on the development of its own missile program in response to the sanctions.
