Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that its country is seeking cooperation with Russia and China on the issue of its nuclear programme.

“We are holding very close consultations with regard to the Iranian nuclear programme,” Mr Araghchi said after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Tehran.

In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal intended to limit Iran’s nuclear programme and lift sanctions.

In response, Tehran pulled out of the agreement, ramped up its uranium enrichment and restricted checks on its nuclear facilities.

At the beginning of February, Mr Trump, now in his second term, issued a presidential memorandum that ordered his administration to place “maximum pressure” on Iran to deny the country” all paths to a nuclear weapon,” with measures including new sanctions and tougher enforcement of existing ones.

But he also suggested a willingness to work out a deal.

Mr Araghchi emphasised that Iran would not be forced into negotiations, saying, “There will be no direct negotiations between us and the United States.”

During a joint press conference with Mr Araghchi, Mr Lavrov expressed confidence that the dispute could be resolved diplomatically and was acceptable to all sides.

“Action should be taken as effectively as possible without threats and without insinuations of the possibility of any violent solutions.

“It is not Iran that is to blame for the tense situation, but the West,’’ Mr Lavrov said.

In mid-January, Russia and Iran signed a 20-year strategic cooperation agreement.

Experts see the cooperation as a reaction to the political isolation that both countries are experiencing, which has noticeably increased since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

(dpa/NAN)