London, IRNA – Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, has condemned the U.S. president's threats against Iran, emphasizing that diplomacy is the only way to reach an agreement with Iran.
“We are definitively opposed to any U.S. threats of using force against Iran let alone threats of military action against [Iran’s] nuclear sites. We condemn such policies. Russia has always believed that the only solution to Iran's nuclear program is through diplomacy,” Ulyanov said in an exclusive interview with IRNA on Saturday.
“We are now facing a paradox,” he said, in reference to Washington’s policies on the 2015 Iran deal under which the Islamic Republic restricted its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the deal in 2018 and launched his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
After returning to the White House in January this year, Trump resumed that campaign while signaling willingness to reach a new agreement with Iran. Early last month, he also sent a letter to Iran, offering direct negotiations and warning of possible military action if Tehran refused to engage. In response, Iran said it would only agree to indirect talks, ruling out direct negotiations under pressure and threats.
The Iran deal was a multilateral agreement that was properly implemented from 2015 to 2018, the Russian diplomat said, adding that the deal was aimed at resolving all issues about Iran's nuclear program through political and diplomatic method.
But Trump unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and imposed his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran, Ulyanov said, describing the policy as completely failed after seven years.
“What we are witnessing now is that the U.S. administration has escalated tensions and resorted to military threats and pressure. Yet Trump continues to claim that he wants an agreement,” he said.
If Trump really wants to reach an agreement with Iran, the only viable way is through “diplomacy, not threats or use of force,” the Russian diplomat said.
Ulyanov emphasized the urgency of “professional negotiations far from any threats and provocative blackmailing” over Iran’s nuclear program as he referred to the country’s membership in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the UN nuclear watchdog’s constant inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites.
The NPT is the basis of preserving international security and Iran, as a non-nuclear state, is a signatory to the treaty, he said. In addition, Iran’s nuclear facilities are under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the country is subject to strict inspections, he added.
On Thursday, President Masoud Pezeshkian told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a phone conversation that Iran does not seek war with any country, but it will not hesitate in defending itself.
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