TEHRAN – A senior Russian diplomat has forecast a grim prospect for the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying that the Western parties to the deal have lost interest in reviving it. 

The diplomat, Mikhail Ulyanov, who is Russia’s representative to Vienna-based international organizations, said a detailed agreement had been negotiated for the resuscitation of the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement was eventually not implemented. 

“The outlook for this issue is very vague and complicated. I would like to remind you that negotiations on restoring the Iran nuclear deal were held in Vienna from April 2021 to March 2022. Detailed decisions were prepared in this regard, which included the phased cancellation of all American sanctions against Iran and the simultaneous return of Tehran to the parameters specified in the framework of the JCPOA in relation to this country's nuclear program,” he said in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia, according to Tasnim. 

Ulyanov added, “But the favorable moment has been lost and absolutely nothing has happened during the past year and a half.”

According to the Russian diplomat, the main problem is the unconstructive stance of Berlin, London and Paris, as well as Washington, who refused to fulfill their obligations in the framework of the JCPOA in 2018.

They seem to have lost interest in the JCPOA, he noted. “In my opinion, they are making a serious strategic mistake because the issue is in limbo. Tensions may escalate at any moment with very unpleasant consequences, and such a trend should be prevented,” Ulyanov continued. 

This is the second time in less than two weeks that Russia expresses pessimism about the future of the JCPOA. Nearly ten days ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he was pessimistic about the resuscitation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal at the moment.

Lavrov considered it unrealistic to wait for a new agreement on reviving the nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a year before the presidential elections in the United States.

“It seems to me that it is not realistic to wait for this (the resumption of the JCPOA) now, because in a year there will be elections in the United States, and a new administration will come,” he said, according to RT Arabic. 

He made the remarks on the sidelines of a Russia-ASEAN meeting in Jakarta.

“Who knows what kind of administration it will be, Democrat or Republican? But there are no guarantees that this new administration will not repeat the trick of pulling out of the agreement reached,” Lavrov continued. 

The Russian foreign minister pointed out that there are unofficial and unannounced contacts between Washington and Tehran on a number of bilateral files, but they have nothing to do with the nuclear agreement. He added that Russia welcomes such contacts aimed at easing tensions between Iran and the U.S.

Talks over the JCPOA have come to a halt months ago but Iran and the U.S. had indirect talks over a range of issues.