Moscow/dubai: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei sent his foreign minister to Russia on Thursday with a letter for Russian President Vladimir Putin, aiming to shore up support from Moscow ahead of a second round of nuclear negotiations with the US.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with bombing and extending tariffs to third countries that buy its oil if Tehran does not come to an agreement with Washington over its disputed nuclear programme. The US has moved additional warplanes into the region.
The U.S. and Iran held talks in Oman last weekend that both sides described as positive and constructive. Ahead of a second round of talks set to take place in Rome this weekend, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday that Iran’s right to enrich uranium is not negotiable.
Russia, a longstanding ally of Tehran, plays a role in Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the West as a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member and a signatory to an earlier nuclear deal Trump abandoned during his first term.
“Regarding the nuclear issue, we always had close consultations with our friends China and Russia. Now it is a good opportunity to do so with Russian officials,” Araqchi said. He said he was conveying a letter to Putin that discussed regional and bilateral issues. Western powers say Iran is refining uranium to a high degree of fissile purity beyond what is justifiable for a civilian energy
programme.