MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/. The situation involving the nuclear deal with Iran has stopped at a point where the movement towards the complete collapse of the agreements may begin, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in the podcast Middle East Express of the Primakov Center for International Cooperation.

"We have now stopped at a point from which there may well begin a slide towards the complete collapse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. But nevertheless, the diplomatic resource is not completely exhausted yet. We continue to persistently influence our opponents in order to avoid the final destruction of this very viable arrangement," Ryabkov noted.

He recalled that Britain, France and Germany had submitted "a destructive resolution condemning Iran" to the IAEA Board of Governors.

"Naturally, this caused Tehran’s complete rejection. We also condemn this mode of action. It by no means contributes to solving problems. On the contrary, it adds to the risks of uncontrolled escalation," Ryabkov continued. "We urge the Europeans to weigh the consequences of such a policy, but for now they, just like the US, are not ready to perceive, they are not inclined to perceive anything that is offered to them in contrast to their own policy, which is absolutely futile and absurd in many respects".

On June 6, Moscow, Beijing and Tehran issued a statement noting that they believed that the provisions of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program still remained in force.

The JCPOA was signed with Iran in 2015 with the aim to overcome the crisis over its nuclear research by the permanent quintet of the UN Security Council and Germany. The document provided for the gradual lifting of sanctions in exchange for Tehran's commitments to limit its nuclear activities. The previous US president, Donald Trump, decided in 2018 to withdraw from this agreement. Russia, Britain, Germany, China, France, Germany, the United States and China had been in talks with Iran in Vienna since April 2021 on restoring the JCPOA to its original shape. After several rounds the negotiations ended inconclusively in November 2022.