TEHRAN – Iranian Deputy Foreign Ministry Ali Bagheri Kani met in Moscow on Friday with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov. 

Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna who broke the news on Twitter, said the two diplomats discussed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“Deputy heads of Foreign Ministries of #Russia and #Iran Mr. S. Ryabkov and Dr. A. Bagheri Kani met today in Moscow to discuss the prospects of full-scale implementation of the #JCPOA,” Ulyanov said. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Bagheri Kani had traveled to the Qatari capital Doha, where he discussed the JCPOA with his Qatari counterpart Mohammad al-Khulaifi. 

Iranian media reported that Bagheri Kani, who has been Iran’s top nuclear negotiator in the Vienna talks over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, discussed bilateral, regional and international issues.

Upon his arrival, Bagheri Kani met with his Qatari counterpart, Mohammad al-Khulaifi. In the meeting, the two senior diplomats discussed bilateral, regional, and international issues.

The Qatari foreign ministry said the two diplomats also discussed the JCPOA. “During the meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries and ways to support and develop them, in addition to discussing the latest developments in the negotiations of the return to the joint action plan, as well as several regional and international issues of joint interest,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has recently said that the JCPOA is at risk because of the behavior of the West, especially in regard to the West pushing for a censure resolution against Iran at the IAEA’s Board of Governors. 

“JCPOA fate is hanging by a thread. Things got worse after a group of states pushed the anti-#Iran resolution at #IAEA #BoG. A classic example that some don’t learn from experience,” Ryabkov said, according to the Russian foreign ministry. 

He added that Russia believes that with political will the agreement can be finalized fast.