Russia Hopes US Will Return to Revival of Iran Nuclear Deal, Source Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow hopes that Washington can demonstrate more substantially its commitment to reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and fixing past errors, a high-ranking Russian diplomatic source told Sputnik on Sunday.

"Statements are being made overseas every now and then that make one doubt the current US administration's commitment to its promises to bring the US back to the JCPOA. Americans are thrashing about and looking for a convenient excuse to derail from the course on revival of the nuclear deal," the source said.

The US should observe United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231, endorsing the JCPOA, and correct its own violations of the resolution, the source said. The source also said that experts with the Vienna format of nuclear talks have found during months of work that the deal's revival on originally-agreed terms was possible.

"For this, our US colleagues just lack the political will to make the final step on reaching an agreement on this matter. We hope that they will stop muddying waters, pull themselves together and follow through on the revival of nuclear deal," the source said.

Earlier in the week, US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said the US would rather focus its attention on Iran's alleged arms exports and mass protests, rather than the nuclear talks, which Washington considers deadlocked at Tehran's fault.

The nuclear deal was sealed in 2015 by China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, the UK, and the US, as well as the EU. The US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, to which the latter responded by gradually dropping its own obligations under the deal. The two started talks on JCPOA revival after the change of power in the White House.

Vienna has hosted several rounds of talks since April 2021.