Iran, Russia, and China censured the United States at the UN Security Council for refusing to meet Iran’s demands after two-day negotiations in Qatar to discuss the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal ended without a concrete result on Wednesday.
Diplomats spoke at the UN Security Council Thursday, wringing their hands at perceived lack of progress after Iran and the European side said they will keep in touch “about the continuation of the route and the next stage of the talks”.
Iran’s UN Ambassador Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the council that Tehran is ready to strike an agreement, but everything depends on the US to make a decision.
“Iran has demanded verifiable and objective guarantees from the US that JCPOA will not be torpedoed again, that the US will not violate its obligations again, and that sanctions will not be reimposed under other pretexts or designations,” he told the council using the official name of the deal.
The Chinese envoy urged the US to respond positively to Iran’s reasonable demands and redress it past mistakes.
“The United States should face up to its responsibility, correct its mistake once and for all, make a political decision as soon as possible, and take concrete measures to respond positively to the reasonable demands of Iran,” Zhang Jun said.
Russia’s Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the US “maximum pressure” launched by former US president Donald Trump in 2018 is “the main cause of all of the current problems plaguing the JCPOA”.
The talks in Doha followed several rounds of negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna since April last year. They had stalled since March, chiefly over Washington’s insistence to maintain some key elements of the sanctions intact.

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President Seyyed Ebrahim Raeisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called for more bilateral trade and energy cooperation as they met in Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, on the sidelines of the sixth summit of the Caspian littoral states.
Raeisi said Iran was pursuing engagement with Moscow within the framework of a strategic relationship.
“Relations between the two countries in the field of trade and energy cooperation are at a high level, but given the existing fields in the two countries, these ties still have great potential for expansion,” Raeisi said in remarks quoted by IRNA.
The president paid a two-day visit to Moscow in January and met Putin. He described the visit as a “turning point” in bilateral relations, Press TV wrote.  
“After my visit to Russia, several reciprocal visits have been made to follow up on the agreements, and their implementation is at a good pace,” Raeisi said.
He stressed the need for the two countries to support strengthening of the North-South corridor, saying Iran and Russia had also good capacities for cooperation in the field of energy, including swaps.
Raeisi called for mechanisms to be set up to strengthen bilateral banking and monetary relations between Iran and Russia within an independent framework.
Putin said trade and economic relations between the two countries have increased in recent months, adding the path must continue. He welcomed Raeisi’s proposal to increase bilateral energy cooperation, including swaps.

 

Iran dismissed as “baseless, biased and unconstructive” a joint statement by Bahrain and Egypt about the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and defense doctrines.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said he urged Bahrain and Egypt to acquire a true understanding of regional equations, and take note of the role Iran plays in promoting stability across the Middle East.
Kanaani criticized the two Arab countries’ “stubborn insistence” on following the wrong path of Iranophobia, stating that such an approach is far away from wisdom and serves Israeli interests, Press TV reported.
“Safeguarding and protecting nuclear achievements is an inalienable right of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said, emphasizing that Tehran’s defense and missile capabilities are promoted “based on the country’s strategic policies, fall within the framework of its defense doctrine and by no means constitute a threat to neighboring states.”
The spokesman highlighted that Iran is willing to maintain and expand relations with its neighbors as well as Muslim countries, and that the incumbent government has devoted considerable efforts to that goal.
Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah met on Wednesday with visiting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the capital Manama, where they accused Iran of meddling in the affairs of Arab countries.
They also charged Tehran with non-compliance with the principles of good neighborliness, and destabilizing activities.
Additionally, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani repeated the anti-Iran claims in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.
Iran has reaffirmed its good neighborly policy in dealing with regional countries, reassuring its neighbors that Tehran’s missile and nuclear programs are civilian in nature and serve the security of the region.