No reasonable alternatives for Iran nuclear deal: Russia

Asked in an interview with RIA Novosti whether the “point of no return” has been passed in the work of reinstating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Lavrov replied that those who keep saying that everything is lost are Westerners.

He added that the Westerners “are trying to scare the world from the ‘Iranian threat’ and they don’t like to remember that the JCPOA was working perfectly until the US decided overnight to break the nuclear deal.

“Let me remind you that it was May 2018, in breach of its own obligations,” the top Russian diplomat stated.

Technically, he noted, the negotiations to “restart” these historic agreements have reached a stage where the main approaches have been defined and the time has come to make responsible decisions.

Moscow is prepared for such a development, according to Lavrov.

He recalled that the Russian side once offered a “simple and straightforward model” as the US and Iran simultaneously and gradually moved towards each other and gradually returned to fulfilling all of the JCPOA’s requirements.

“Every detail has been worked out to the smallest detail. We can implement such a scenario if there is political will. Another issue is that the Americans and Europeans slowed sharply at the finish line,” the foreign minister explained.

The remarks came as Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian urged the parties involved in the talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and end anti-Iran sanctions to be realistic, stressing that the window to reach an agreement will not remain open forever.

“The window to reach an agreement on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not be open always,” the top Iranian diplomat asserted, adding that the window will be shut if the opposite parties, especially the Americans, continue to behave hypocritically and unrealistically.

“We haven’t closed (the window), but if the Westerners want to continue their hypocritical and interventionist behavior, we will move in another direction (plan),” he continued.

The marathon talks in Vienna, underway since April last year, have remained stalled since August over foot-dragging by the United States and refusal to provide necessary guarantees to Iran.

The “politically manipulated” actions of the UN nuclear agency and the probe into so-called “uranium traces” found at “three undeclared sites” have also emerged as a key obstacle.