US sanctions may jeopardise Iranian nuke talks: Russia

Moscow said Friday it can not accept a recent US decision to introduce new sanctions against a group of Iranian individuals and businesses, warning that the measure will jeopardise nuclear talks.

"It will jeopardise the entire process of ironing differences between Iran and the international community, including more intensive cooperation between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the governmental newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Xinhua reported.

Success of talks over Iranian nuclear problem achieved in November between international mediators and Tehran was not irreversible, Ryabkov warned.

On Nov 24, Iran and the P5+1 group, which includes the US, Britain, France, Russia, China plus Germany, struck a deal under which Tehran agreed to freeze part of its nuclear programme in exchange for limited ease of sanctions.

However, the US Thursday blacklisted more than two dozen companies and individuals for evading international sanctions against Iran or supporting its nuclear programme.

The US Treasury Department and the State Department announced that the US was freezing assets and banning transactions of entities and individuals they claim are involved in the proliferation of material used for making weapons of mass destruction or are attempting to evade sanctions.