Russia warns against new Iran sanctions

Russia on Friday joined China in calling for more diplomacy on Iran, warning against imposing fresh sanctions against the country’s nuclear energy section for delays over a fuel exchange deal.

“If our logic is to punish Iran, or if we take up the posture of the offended … this will not be a sober approach,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

He called on Tehran to work constructively to alleviate concerns over its nuclear activities but cautioned that any punitive actions against Iran will be counterproductive.

“It is not a simple situation and it is not made any easier by the domestic political situation in Iran,” said Lavrov. “We must not take any steps that could open up risks to the work of the [International Atomic Energy] Agency in this country,” he said.

Under a UN-brokered proposal discussed in mid-October, the US, France and Russia asked Iran to send most of its domestically-produced low enriched uranium abroad to be converted into more refined fuel for the Tehran research reactor that produces medical isotopes.

Tehran has not accepted the proposal, asking the other side for guarantees that the fuel would be delivered to Iran. The West, however, has refused to ally Iran’s concerns.

The foreign minister of Russia, a veto-wielding permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), said that his country wanted “to see constructive actions from Iran.”

Lavrov went on to say that Moscow was dissatisfied with Tehran’s reaction to the proposal.

“We regret that Iran, by all appearances, does not consider it possible to agree to the formula it was offered as regards the production of fuel for the Tehran research reactor,” he said.

The five permanent members of the UNSC — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — plus Germany discussed further sanctions against Tehran. The talks, however, failed as China urged diplomacy.

Iran says as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it is entitled to enrich uranium for civilian purposes. This includes producing fuel for its under-construction nuclear power plants as well as providing fuel for its research reactor in Tehran.

The US and Israel, meanwhile, repeatedly seek to raise questions over the country’s intentions, with Tel Aviv going as far as orchestrating a campaign to portray Tehran as a regime hell bent on starting a nuclear war in the volatile Middle East.