Russia: Solution to Iran’s nuclear file is diplomatic
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Oleg Bostanikov, Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control at Russia’s Foreign Ministry
Pars Today — A senior Russian Foreign Ministry official has stressed that escalating tensions over Iran’s nuclear program is inherently doomed to fail.
According to Pars Today, Oleg Bostanikov, Director of the Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, criticized confrontational approaches toward Iran’s nuclear program, emphasizing that pursuing further escalation in this case is “inherently wrong, a losing strategy, and ultimately leads to a dead end,” adding that there is no reasonable alternative to a political and diplomatic solution.
Bostanikov told Sputnik News Agency that over the past year there had been tangible efforts to reach sustainable understandings—efforts aimed at removing doubts about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program while taking Tehran’s legitimate interests into account. According to him, Russia played an active role in these efforts, but ultimately “the escalation-driven approach in the West gained the upper hand.”
Referring to Tehran’s positions, the senior Russian Foreign Ministry official added that Moscow regularly receives clear signals from Iran indicating its readiness for dialogue based on equality, mutual respect, and adherence to international law—particularly the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which guarantees the right of non-nuclear states to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Bostanikov described this right as “non-negotiable and not subject to restriction.”
He further noted: “The greatest pressure to undermine this right comes from those who have fundamentally not joined this treaty.”
Bostanikov then referred to the 12-day war, saying that the experience of these developments once again shows that the path of pressure, threats, and military action not only fails to help resolve Iran’s nuclear file, but actually complicates the situation. He stressed that the only realistic and sustainable path forward is a return to dialogue and diplomacy.
