News

Russian officials said they want a written guarantee that sanctions related to its invasion of Ukraine will not impact the country’s trade with Iran if the nuclear deal is restored, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Driving the news: The U.S. and Iran are close to reaching a deal to bring back the 2015 Iran nuclear pact, which would lift “most international sanctions on Iran in exchange for tight but temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programs.”

Between the lines: Russia’s specific role within the 2015 nuclear deal would need to be protected, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is demanding more guarantees that could create loopholes in the recent sanctions imposed on Russia, the Journal writes.

What they’re saying: “We need a guarantee that these sanctions will not in any way touch the regime of trade-economic and investment relations which is laid down in the” nuclear deal, Lavrov told reporters on Saturday.