Russia Dismisses US Threats on Iran Cooperation

Russia rejected the threat of US sanctions and attempts to isolate Iran on Thursday, stating that it planned to trade with Tehran once the UN weapons embargo expires next month.

The embargo on conventional weapons exports to Iran is due to expire on 18 October, following the inability of the United States to gain support for a new UN resolution, reports AFP.

US President Donald Trump's administration says it has agreed to unilaterally reinstate nearly all UN sanctions against Iran lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.

Washington said it will aim to prevent Iran from buying Chinese tanks and Russian air defence systems.

Speaking alongside visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov dismissed those threats as illegal.

“Russia will in no way build its policies on the basis of these aggressive illegal demands which have no legal force,” Lavrov said.

He expressed hope that other countries cooperating with Iran would follow suit.

“The fact that the United States threatened to introduce sanctions on all those who will contradict the US interpretation of the current situation once again confirms that Washington wants to behave like a bull in a china shop,” Lavrov added.

“In my opinion, the current (US) administration has lost diplomatic skills almost beyond retrieve,” Lavrov said.

He added, however, that Russia and European countries had continued talks on the topic with Washington.

In 2018, Trump withdrew from Iran to the consternation of European powers. But his administration maintains that he is already a "participant" and can thus go ahead with sanctions, a stance that Europe has rejected as ludicrous.