Russia's president backs JCPOA, rejects what's being done against Iran

Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again stressed the importance of preserving the multilateral nuclear agreement signed between Iran and major world powers in 2015, saying Moscow does not approve of "what is being done against Iran."

"We support nothing of what is being done against Iran. We're discussing this with our partners, trying to persuade them that it is necessary to resort to measures that don't destroy the positivity, the hard work of the past years, and don't create anything long-term," Putin said during a meeting with heads of international news agencies on the sideline of St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.

He added that Iran has fully complied with its commitments under the nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"From the standpoint of control over its nuclear programs, Iran is today the most verifiable country in the world. These are not hollow words; this is what the IAEA management has been talking about," the Russian president pointed out.

He pointed to several inspections made by the UN nuclear agency to Iran's nuclear sites and said the IAEA has not found "a single violation in terms of the arrangements reached in the framework of the JCPOA."

SS