The United States expected its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), also known as the Iranian nuclear deal, will trigger an all-out confrontation with Tehran, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his country would exit the 2015 JCPoA, which provided for the gradual lifting of the anti-Iranian sanctions in exchange for Tehran’s maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.
Trump, besides, has decided to reinstate the previously lifted sanctions on Iran.
“I recall the apocalyptic predictions in the 1980s about the nuclear winter, which, fortunately, did not take place.
“Then the Arab Spring began, which through a series of tragic events, also exacerbated the issue of weapons of mass destruction.
“I mean the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear programme with the expectation of trigger an all-out confrontation with Tehran.
“As well as numerous provocations around the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government along the West’s course toward change of power in Damascus,’’ Lavrov said at the Primakov Readings international think tank summit in Moscow.
The JCPoA was signed in 2015 by Iran, China, France, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, U.S. and the EU after long and intense negotiations.
Tehran has repeatedly stated that it would give a harsh response if Washington departs from the JCPoA commitments.
The two-day Primakov Readings forum kicked off on Tuesday.
This year, 65 internationally renowned foreign experts from 22 countries, along with 600 Russian politicians, diplomats, businessmen and experts took part in the summit. (Sputnik/NAN)
