Support The Moscow Times!

Russia and Iran Working on Coordinated Defense Against U.S. Sanctions, Official Says

Sergei Ryabkov (Mikhail Pochuyev / TASS)

Russia has partnered with Iran to come up with a “layered defense” against U.S. sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and is re-imposing sanctions on Tehran. The other parties to the accord — China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany — are trying to find ways to save the agreement.

Russia and Iran will engage Europe, China and others in “intensive work to build a layered defense against American extraterritorial sanctions, against U.S. attempts to disrupt the nuclear deal to suit its own geopolitical motives,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily on Tuesday.

Members of the nuclear deal need to find “formulas, tools and mechanisms” to withstand a “second wave of sanctions,” he said.

Businesses, he added, need “to at least see an alternative to submitting to an American dictatorship” and continue pursuing deals in the Islamic republic.

Ryabkov was in Tehran on Monday for talks on how to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Reuters contributed reporting to this article.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more