Iran Nuke Deal On The Verge After Russia Makes Unexpected Last-Minute Demands

The Ukraine war is threatening to throw a monkey wrench into the weekend optimism which started building especially on Friday reports that a revived Iran nuclear deal is mere “steps away” and “very close”. It appears Russia is ready to play hard-ball following for the past week the US and EU ratcheting up unprecedented sanctions targeting Moscow’s banking sector and top officials, including sanctions against Putin himself, which the Russian president on Saturday stressed is “tantamount to an act of war”.

Moscow is now pointing to the fresh Ukraine-related sanctions as directly detrimental to its ability to trade with Iran if the JCPOA nuclear deal is restored. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday for the first time demanded written guarantees that the new anti-Russia sanctions won’t get in the way.

“We have asked for a written guarantee…that the current process triggered by the United States does not in any way damage our right to free and full trade, economic and investment cooperation and military-technical cooperation with the Islamic Republic,” Lavrov said.

* * *

PayPal: Donate in USD
PayPal: Donate in EUR
PayPal: Donate in GBP