TEHRAN – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Russia put forth an initiative for reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that is “simple” and “understandable.”

Russia proposed a “simple and understandable model” for all sides to resume fulfilling their obligations, but the US and EU “abruptly slowed down” at the finish line and “switched to shaking up Iran’s internal political situation,” Lavrov said in remarks to Russian state-run news agency RIA, according to Anadolu Agency. 

“It was all worked out to the smallest detail,” he said, emphasizing that the plan can be implemented “if there is political will.”

Time has proven that the 2015 nuclear agreement has no reasonable alternative, said Lavrov, denouncing “irresponsible” speculations about a “Plan B” and other “unacceptable options.”

Any such deviation could lead to “escalation, an arms race, an open conflict with irreversible consequences,” he warned.

The remarks come against a backdrop of tensions between Iran and the West which has put the Vienna talks over reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on ice. 

Germany said Wednesday that it sees no reason to resume the JCPOA talks.  “From our point of view, there are currently no indications or reasons for a resumption of the Iran nuclear negotiations,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger said. 

He pointed out that Germany has repeatedly made it clear that “these negotiations are not taking place at the moment.”

The German spokesman said that the focus of Berlin is not on the JCPOA right now but on what he called protests in Iran. 

Burger’s remarks drew a response from the Russian Ambassador to Vienna-based International Organizations Mikhail Ulyanov. 

“The German MFA stated that Berlin saw no reason to resume the Vienna talks. Apparently, Germany underestimates the importance of nuclear non-proliferation as well as the risk of serious and even uncontrolled escalation if the talks on JCPOA remain inconclusive,” Ulyanov said on Twitter. 
  
Iran has reiterated its interest in the JCPOA. The spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament stressed on Wednesday that the Islamic Republic will not pull back from its position and interests in the JCPOA talks.

In remarks to Mehr News, Abolfazl Amouei underlined that the U.S. is to blame for poor advancement in the JCPOA talks.

He added that “the conditions for the U.S. comeback have been the main topic of our conversations for the last 18 months. The American side left the JCPOA accord and then declared its willingness to rejoin the deal.” 

Amouei went on to underscore, “It was the American side that, owing to internal circumstances, including (congressional) elections, withdrew from the process of advancing the discussions more swiftly, and since then, the pace of the negotiations has been hampered due to their wrong political interpretation.”

Amouei speculated that perhaps the Westerners believed the recent unrest in Iran would help them politically or degrade Iran's negotiating position.

Now that public security conditions have improved in Iran, the West can comprehend that Iran does not intend to compromise on its interests in the talks, he added.

He continued by saying that a deal would soon be reached if the U.S. shows genuine political will, observing Iran’s redlines and legitimate demands.

Amouei stated that the agreement's conclusion is dependent on the U.S.'s political will, and that if the other side is willing to return to its former duties and successfully lift the sanctions, Iran is also willing to take compensatory steps.

“If the other side returns to its obligations and lifts the sanctions we will also take compensatory measures,” he remarked.

"The conversations have never been interrupted, and they have been monitored through mediation, conveying signals, and informal draft texts," the Iranian legislator remarked.