Iranian Foreign Minister leaves for Moscow for talks with Russia's Lavrov

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has left Tehran to hold talks with top Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on the 2015 nuclear deal, bilateral relations and the crisis in Syria later on Tuesday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has left Tehran to hold talks with top Russian diplomat Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on the 2015 nuclear deal, bilateral relations, and the crisis in Syria later on Tuesday. The meeting comes days after the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), marked its fifth anniversary on July 14. This is Zarif's third official visit to Moscow over the past six months.

During the visit, Zarif is accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araghchi, the official IRNA news agency reported. Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali has previously said that Zarif will deliver a message by President Hassan Rouhani to Russian leader Vladimir Putin during the visit.

The JCPOA agreement has been in crisis since May 2018, when the United States unilaterally withdrew from it and reintroduced sanctions on Tehran. Now, Washington is seeking to extend the UN arms embargo on the country, which is set to expire in mid-October. Russia and China oppose the move, arguing that the arms embargo is to be lifted five years after the deal's adoption, under the JCPOA. Iran warns that the arms embargo extension would mean the death of the nuclear deal. 

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