US chose ‘most dramatic option’ to act on Iran’s nuclear deal – Russian deputy FM

The US has chosen “the most dramatic option” to act on Iran’s nuclear program, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said after consultations in Tehran on Thursday. “The US had a lot of other options to move on this issue where they find it necessary, but the most dramatic and far-reaching one was chosen,” TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying. During the consultations in Tehran, the issue of maintaining the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program was discussed, as well as overcoming the consequences of US economic sanctions on Tehran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow will seek to make sure that US sanctions on Iran neither destroy the nuclear deal nor affect Tehran’s partners. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow will maintain close coordination on nuclear issues with Iran despite Washington quitting the international agreement. President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal on Tuesday.