TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said late on Monday that his visit to Russia was “important” and “essential”.

“I believe consultations and coordination made during this visit will be beneficial to regional peace and security,” he told reporters.

During a meeting with Russian experts on Iranian studies, Zarif said the two countries’ ties are growing.

Elsewhere, he said that Iran, Russia and China are powerful countries which have stood against hegemony of the United States.

“Hegemony of the United States have reached its end, however, the United States is in its own dreams,” he said.

During the visit, Zarif held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

During a joint press conference, Zarif said that Iran will scale back its nuclear commitments more and more if Europeans fail to shield Tehran’s economy from sanctions reimposed by the United States after Trump’s administration’s withdrawal from the deal.

“It is meaningless to continue unilateral commitments to the deal if we don’t enjoy its benefits as promised by the deal’s European parties,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

He also ruled out possibility of renegotiating the JCPOA.

“It is not about renegotiating JCPOA because, as you and I know probably better than anybody else because both of us were involved in these negotiations from the very beginning, it is impossible to open this Pandora box and close it again,” Sputnik quoted him as saying.

Zarif also praised the partnership between Iran, Russia, and China.

“The nature of our relations with Russia and China is different from our relations with the ... other participants of the JCPOA because we believe that Iran, Russia, and China have never stopped cooperating ... So we consider Russia and China as partners that have ... held strong positions and who contribute to the continued survival of the JCPOA,” Zarif explained.

Zarif also said that Tehran welcomes a Russian proposal for ensuring security in the Persian Gulf.

He said that security in the Persian Gulf is very important for Iran and Russia, and the two countries share close views in this respect.

NA/PA