Bloomberg
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for meetings
with Iran’s top leaders as Moscow voices increasing
criticism of US President Trump’s move away from the nuclear agreement with the
Islamic Republic.
Putin will hold talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that will focus on the nuclear issue and economic ties, the Kremlin said in an emailed statement. He’ll also take part in a three-way summit between Russia, Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan.
“Iran wants Russia’s position to be more clear and
supportive†over the nuclear pact, which is endangered by the US stance, said Alexei Malashenko, a senior analyst at the Berlin-based Dialogue of Civilizations research group.
Trump last month disavowed the 2015 accord to curb Iran’s nuclear program that was negotiated between Tehran and the US, Russia, France, Germany, the UK
and China. He accused Iran
of violating the agreement multiple times, though he stopped short of abando-
ning the pact completely. All
of the other participants, as well as inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, say Iran is complying with the deal.