Moscow warns against revision of Iran nuclear deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday warned of dangers which may emanate from a revision of the Iran nuclear deal.

"We, like France, consider it necessary to fully implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and it would be extremely dangerous to break the deal," Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

"If there is a desire to discuss some issues concerning Iran in the same format that coordinated the JCPOA, or some other format, it should be done with the obligatory participation of Iran and on the principle of consensus, not ultimatums," he added, Xinhua reported.

Iran and six international mediators -- Russia, the United States, Britain, China, France and Germany -- in 2015 reached the historic agreement on the settlement of the long-standing problem of Iran's nuclear energy.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to halt its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for economic aid and the lifting of international sanctions.

However, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused Iran of violating the deal and threatened to abandon the pact unless it was revised.

Despite the Iran nuclear deal, the US has kept on slapping separate sanctions on Iran, accusing the country of having a ballistic missiles programme and human rights abuses.

At Tuesday's press conference, Le Drian expressed Paris' concern about Iran's missile programme.

"As for ballistic missiles, I'm talking about Iran, this situation worries us very much. I will go to Tehran next Monday," he said.

"I will clearly tell the Tehran authorities: This is a treaty and it must be implemented. Secondly, there is a risk and it is necessary to do everything to avoid this risk," Le Drian said.

After signing the JCPOA, Iran has conducted several ballistic missile tests, repeatedly stressing that its missile programme was purely defensive and that Tehran was not going to discuss with anyone issues related to its defence.

--IANS

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