Russia, China call on US to drop Iran sanctions, restart nuclear talks

Iranian, Russian, and Chinese representatives have urged Iran’s, Russia’s, and China’s governments to lift sanctions against Tehran and restart the multilateral discussions on the issue.

In a joint statement released on Friday, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu read that the three countries “emphasized the necessity of terminating all unlawful unilateral sanctions.” Kazem Gharibabadi from Iran and Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich from Russia, flanked him.

According to Ma, “the relevant parties should work to remove sanctions, pressure, and threats of the use of force” to address the root causes of the current situation.

Gharibabadi, the president of Iran, praised the meeting as being “very constructive and positive,” while criticizing “some nations” for causing an “unnecessary crisis” to thwart Tehran.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the three senior diplomats were scheduled to meet later on Friday.

Trump’s latest attempt to break with the Iran impasse is seen as the latest attempt to rekindle dialogue, with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attempting to do so.

Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council along with the US, France, and Britain, must support any progress in the Iran negotiations with the Trump administration.

The Security Council’s approval set off years of attacks and tensions in the Middle East, allowing Trump to implement the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in his first year as president.

Iran was permitted to keep a 300 kilogram (661) stockpile of uranium in accordance with the original 2015 nuclear agreement, which only allowed enrichment to 3.67 percent of the purity. The IAEA’s (IAEA) most recent report on Iran’s program estimated its stockpile at 8, 294.4 kg (18, 286 pounds) because it enriched a small portion of it to achieve 60 percent purity.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful.

Iran has vowed to keep its economy in check despite US sanctions, but it has already threatened to sabotage it. Iran’s government has recently been shaken by protests over women’s rights, the economy, and Iran’s theocracy.

Trump claimed on Friday that he had written to Khamenei a letter urging both negotiations and appointing a military action.

Khamenei made fun of the US president by saying he was not interested in engaging with a “bullying government.” Trump “tore it up,” he claimed, and Tehran “negotiated for years, reached a complete and signed agreement.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian added that he would not negotiate with the US because it was “threatened,” and that Iran would not abide by US “orders” to speak. However, he had previously stated in a UN speech that Tehran was “ready to engage.”