Copy in clipboard...
‘Dirty politicized campaign’: Russia raps
anti-Iran report on zero enrichment plan
US news outlet Axios reported on Saturday, citing three anonymous sources familiar with the matter, that Putin had "encouraged" Iran to accept a deal with the United States that would prevent the Islamic republic from enriching uranium.
The article "appears to be a new political defamation campaign aimed at exacerbating tensions around Iran's nuclear program," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
"Invariably and repeatedly, we have emphasized the necessity of resolving the crisis concerning Iran's nuclear program exclusively through political and diplomatic means, and expressed our willingness to help find mutually acceptable solutions," the statement read.
Moscow has defended Tehran's right to use nuclear technology for civilian purposes but in recent months, Putin has also drawn closer to US President Donald Trump.
Iran and the US began negotiations in April to resolve a decades-old dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program. They held five rounds of talks mediated by Oman, which were described as constructive by both sides.
However, the talks faced an obstacle over the US demand for Iran to stop enriching uranium under any new deal. Washington says uranium enrichment must be brought to zero while Tehran maintains its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes and views its enrichment industry as a red line.
The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks, originally planned for June 15, were cancelled. These talks, scheduled to take place in Muscat, Oman, were called off following Israeli aggression against Iran. While the talks are off the table, the US has stated it remains committed to dialogue with Iran that has also declared that it is ready for resumption of negotiations.