Russia blames US for pushing Iran to break deal

A senior Russian diplomat says that US sanctions have provoked Iran’s move to break the limit set on its uranium stockpiles.

Iran acknowledged today it had exceeded the limit set on its low-enriched uranium stockpiles by a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, its first major departure from the agreement a year after Washington unilaterally withdrew from it.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov notes that Iran had warned of its move in advance. He urged all parties to “avoid escalation,” saying that Iran’s move “causes regret, but shouldn’t be overdramatized.”

Ryabkov says the development is a “natural result” of the US’s maximum pressure campaign.

He adds that Iran is facing “unprecedented and unthinkable” US sanctions, including an oil trade embargo, which are an attempt to “strangle” the country.

— AP