Russia demands protections against sanctions if Iran nuclear deal restored

Russian officials said they want a written guarantee that sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine will not impact the country’s trade with Iran if the nuclear deal is restored, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Driving the news: The U.S. and Iran are close to reaching a deal to bring back the 2015 Iran nuclear pact, which would lift “most international sanctions on Iran in exchange for tight but temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programs.”

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Between the lines: Russia’s specific role within the 2015 nuclear deal would need to be protected, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is demanding more guarantees that could create loopholes in the recent sanctions imposed on Russia, the Journal writes.

What they’re saying: “We need a guarantee that these sanctions will not in any way touch the regime of trade-economic and investment relations which is laid down in the” nuclear deal, Lavrov told reporters on Saturday.

• “We have asked for a written guarantee…that the current process triggered by the United States does not in any way damage our right to free and full trade, economic and investment cooperation and military-technical cooperation with the Islamic State,” Lavrov added.

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