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Russia on Thursday condemned President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, asserting that Washington is responsible for Tehran’s non-compliance with the international treaty.
Just hours prior, the U.K., France, and Germany (E3) notified the UN Security Council that they had activated the snapback mechanism to enforce severe UN sanctions on Iran within 30 days due to its JCPOA non-compliance.
“The United States abandoned JCPOA, and since then the situation started [to] deteriorate,” Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s UN Ambassador, said Thursday.
“We should not confuse the real source of the problem that happened in 2018,” he remarked about Trump’s choice to withdraw the U.S. from the JCPOA over Iran’s purported transgressions.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, spoke during a United Nations Security Council session addressing Ukraine’s peace and security at UN Headquarters in New York City on March 26, 2025. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
The U.S. has actively urged other signatories to reinstate snapback sanctions on Iran for violations since it could no longer do this itself after leaving the agreement in 2018.
Despite clear evidence of JCPOA breaches by Iran, such as accumulating up to 45 times more enriched uranium than allowed, running advanced centrifuges, and denying IAEA site access, the Russian official suggested the “move by E3 cannot and should not entail any legal or procedural effect.”
“It’s a mere escalatory step,” he continued. “Western countries…don’t care about diplomacy, and they care only about, blackmail and, threats, and coercion of independent countries.”
A UK official confirmed Thursday morning that attempts to reach a diplomatic solution with Iran have been ongoing for years, including in 2022 when a proposal was agreed to by all JCPOA participants, including Russia and China, but which Iran rejected.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wag Yi, stands with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, left, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazeem Gharibabadi, right, before a meeting regarding the Iranian nuclear issue at Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, China on March 14, 2025. (Getty Images)
The official also said that there had been “very intense diplomacy” over the last “12 months, 6 months, 6 weeks,” but which Russia appeared to dismiss on Thursday.
“The world is at a crossroads,” Polyanskiy said. “It’s quite clear. One option is peace, diplomacy and goodwill.
“Another option is…diplomacy at the barrel of the gun…extortion and blackmail,” he added.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions.
