West 'not ready' to launch ‘serious’ talks with Iran on normalizing ties: Russia

Russian Ambassador to Tehran Alexey Yurievich Dedov says the West lacks readiness to launch “serious” negotiations with Iran over the normalization of their ties and the resolution of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear issue.

Dedov made the remarks in an interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Friday. He said the recent anti-Iran resolution by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) showed that the West was to blame for not intending to normalize its relations with Tehran.

“Western countries are not ready to seek a compromise with Iran,” the Russian ambassador said.

“Their [Europeans’] recent steps - the adoption of an anti-Iran statement at the session of the IAEA Board of Governors - indicate that the West is not ready to seek a compromise with Iran... It is not Iran, it is the West that is not ready for a serious conversation with Iran on the issue of normalizing relations.”

The 35-member Board of Governors passed a resolution on June 5, accusing Iran of withholding sufficient cooperation with the IAEA.

Ratified by 20 votes in favor, two against and 12 abstentions, the resolution proposed by the E3 demands that the Islamic Republic step up its cooperation with the IAEA and provide “technically credible explanations which satisfy the Agency’s questions.”

Iran has strongly condemned the United Nations nuclear agency’s passage of the resolution, insisting that such moves would not serve to undermine the country’s nuclear development plans.

IAEA’s political resolution won’t hinder Iran’s nuclear development: Interim FM

Ali Bagheri Kani was addressing the foreign ministerial meeting of the member states of the BRICS group of countries in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

Iran-Russia partnership deal ‘almost finished’

Elsewhere in the interview, Dedov said the work on a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran was nearing completion.

“The work on the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Moscow and Tehran is almost finished,” the diplomat told Sputnik.

The Russian ambassador praised the partnership agreement as a “qualitative development” in the relations between the two countries, saying it indicates the depth of their strategic ties.

Dedov also addressed the possibility of Iran playing a mediation role in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, saying, “If Iran expresses readiness to join the mediation process, Russia would be open to considering such proposals.”

Russia: We hope Pezeshkian follows path of late Raeisi

In an interview with RIA Novosti news agency, Dedov also expressed optimism that the strategic partnership agreement “will be finalized in the near future since the work on it is in the final stage.”

Pointing to the election of Masoud Pezeshkian as Iran’s president on July 5, Dedov said Moscow hopes that the new Iranian chief executive will continue the path of his predecessor’s government.

“Moscow is taking action based on the fact that Masoud Pezeshkian, who was elected as Iran’s president last week, will continue the path laid out by the previous president, Ebrahim Raeisi,” he said, adding, “By and large, we proceed based on the fact that the Raeisi administration’s strategic direction will be maintained in the government of Mr. Pezeshkian.”

Pezeshkian emerged victorious in the second round of the presidential vote on July 5. He garnered more than 16 million votes (about 54 percent) against ex-nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, who secured upwards of 13 million (about 44 percent) out of over 30 million votes cast, with the voter turnout standing at almost 50 percent.

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