Iranian nuclear negotiator secretly visits Moscow

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani paid an unannounced visit to Moscow after the rapprochement talks between Tehran and Washington ended in Doha without results. The news of the trip to Moscow was published on the Twitter account of the Russian permanent mission to international organizations in Vienna, but was not covered by the Iranian media.

Bagheri Keni held a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. The meeting was also attended by Moscow’s chief negotiator Mikhail Ulyanov, who described the meeting as a “very professional exchange of views” on the current status of the nuclear deal and prospects for the Vienna negotiations.

Ulyanov called on the United States to “show greater flexibility,” stressing his belief that “despite all the difficulties, it is still possible to restore the nuclear agreement.” Earlier in the week, Bagheri Kenny met in Doha, Enrique Mora, the European Union official who chaired year-long talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 agreement. On Friday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo also called on Washington and Tehran to “mobilize” With the same spirit and commitment to resume cooperation within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.”

In addition, a series of strong earthquakes shook southern Iran yesterday, killing five people, injuring more than 80 and destroying dozens of buildings. The US Geological Survey said the quakes reached a magnitude of 6, and struck the coastal city of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province. Hormozgan Governor Mehdi Doosti told state television that the village of Seih Khosh, near the epicenter of the quake, had been completely destroyed.
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