TEHRAN - Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to the Vienna-based international organizations, has said that the United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, has deteriorated security in the Persian Gulf region.

“Two years ago today #US withdrew from #JCPOA. Now we can see that this step resulted in deteriorated security in P. #Gulf, development of nuclear programme of #Iran beyond the agreed limits and desperate efforts of US to restore the status of a participant of the #IranDeal,” Ulyanvo tweeted on Friday.

In May 2019, exactly one year after the U.S. unilaterally quit the deal and imposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran began to gradually reduce its commitments under the JCPOA to both retaliate for Washington’s departure and Europeans’ failure to honor their commitments.

On January 5, Iran took a fifth and last step in reducing its commitments and said it would no longer observe any operational limitations on its nuclear industry, whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the volume of stockpiled uranium or research and development. However, Iran has insisted if the Europeans honor their obligations it will immediately reverse its decisions.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that Europe must ensure Iran’s benefits from the nuclear deal if it wants the deal to survive.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran will return to full implementation of the JCPOA if other signatories do the same.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is preparing an argument that the U.S. remains a participant in the Iran nuclear accord that President Trump has renounced, part of an intricate strategy to pressure the United Nations Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Tehran or see far more stringent sanctions reimposed on the country.

Elizabeth Warren, a former Democratic presidential candidate, has dismissed the argument by the Trump administration that the U.S. is still a party to the JCPOA, saying such an argument by the Trump administration, which has abandoned the nuclear deal with Iran, “makes no sense”

Under the JCPOA, the arms embargo against Iran expires in October. 

Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, called on Pompeo to “make up” his “mind” whose department has presented a draft resolution to certain Security Council members in attempt to extend arms embargo otherwise invoke a restoration of previous UN sanctions against Iran lifted under the nuclear pact.

“The international prohibition on weapons going to/from Iran ends in October. To extend this arms embargo, the Trump admin is suddenly arguing that the US is a party to the same Iran Deal it abandoned. That makes no sense. Make up your mind, @SecPompeo,” Warren tweeted.

In a tweet on April, Ulyanov also said, “The US attempts to present itself as ‘JCPOA participants’ have no future. It is like common sense mockery. Those who invented this idea gave bad advice to US authorities. Cynical approaches must have their own limits in order not to compromise national policy to the worst extent.”

In an interview with IRNA published on Sunday, the Russian diplomat also said the United States’ attempt to extend arms embargo on Iran will reach nowhere.

Ulyanov added if the U.S. does not gain the UN Security Council’s approval, it will try another way which will reach nowhere.

The Russian diplomat said that he believes that the U.S. officials are after annihilation of the JCPOA, however their effort seems to be fruitless.

NA/PA