We are deeply disappointed by US President Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally give up commitments to implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear programme (JCPOA) and to reinstate the US sanctions on Iran.

The JCPOA is a key multilateral agreement approved by the 2015 UNSC Resolution 2231. The Action Plan does not belong to the United States alone but is a domain of the entire international community, which has repeatedly reaffirmed its interest in the preservation and long-term sustainable implementation of the JCPOA for the sake of strengthening international and regional peace and security as well as the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

We are gravely concerned that the United States is acting once again in defiance of the opinions of the majority of states and exclusively out of its own narrow and opportunistic interests while grossly violating international law.

There are no and cannot be any grounds for undermining the JCPOA. The Plan has proved its absolute relevance. It efficiently tackles all the challenges it is designed to address.

Iran is abiding strictly with the obligations it has undertaken, which is regularly confirmed by the IAEA. We fully support and welcome that.

Unfortunately, Washington’s actions undermine the international community’s confidence in the IAEA, which has repeatedly proved its high professionalism in the course of the JCPOA implementation.

The decisions announced on May 8 are a new confirmation of Washington’s intractability. They also show that the US objections to Iran’s absolutely legal nuclear activity are nothing but a smokescreen for settling political scores with Iran.

Washington’s newly unveiled position is a significant violation of the JCPOA. A joint commission of the JCPOA member states must promptly and scrupulously consider and assess this situation using the established procedures.

Russia is open to further cooperation with the other JCPOA participants and will continue to actively develop bilateral collaboration and political dialogue with the Islamic Republic of Iran.