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A Russian diplomat involved in renewed talks with Iran said Tehran got far more than anyone expected when it negotiated with other countries to restart the 2015 nuclear deal.
“Iranian colleagues are fighting for [their] national interests are like lions,” Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov said in a video interview posted on the Polaris NatSec network. “They fight for every comma, for every word, and, as a rule, very successfully.”
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A nuclear deal involving the US, China, Russia and Iran is expected within days, Fox News officials have previously said. Negotiations stalled after Russia made last-minute demands to ensure that the sanctions it faced over its invasion of Ukraine would not hurt trade with Iran.
The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for a significant waiver of international sanctions. The Trump administration withdrew the US from the deal over concerns that the deal was not enough to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions, including time limit clauses.
Iran pulled out of the deal after the Trump administration imposed sanctions.
In the video, Ulyanov praised the Chinese for their role in the negotiations and said they worked well with Russia during the talks.
“I am absolutely sincere in this regard when I say that Iran has received much more than it could have expected,” he said. “Our Chinese friends have also been very efficient and helpful negotiators.”
“I can recall dozens of such cases when, on fairly serious, significant issues, together we managed to get positive results close to what we wanted to achieve,” he added.
The Biden administration has sought to revive the nuclear deal, but talks stalled after Iranian leaders demanded significant sanctions relief.
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Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said over the weekend that sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine were not related to a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
“These things are completely different and have nothing to do with each other. So I think it doesn’t matter,” Blinken said in an interview with CBS’ Face the Nation.
Rich Edson and Adam Shaw of Fox News contributed to this report.