Russia says renewed strikes against Iran violate memorandum, undermine nuclear settlement efforts

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that renewed military strikes against Iran undermine efforts to resolve the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.

Speaking at a joint news conference after talks with Chadian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul in Moscow, Lavrov said the resumption of military action against Iran violated the memorandum signed between Tehran and Washington last month.

The agreement mediated by Pakistan aimed at ending the war that began in February permanently, as well as hold negotiations over the nuclear program. But the US and Iran have exchanged renewed strikes over the past days, and have claimed control of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil and gas shipping that Tehran blocked after US-Israeli strikes.

"The most important thing is that this does not lead to a settlement. It closes the door that, it seemed, had been opened by the memorandum," he said.

"We view this as a violation of the memorandum. It is regrettable because civilian infrastructure in Iran and civilian facilities in the Gulf countries are suffering. This leads nowhere good."

On Ukraine, Lavrov said Russia shared with Chad its assessment of European position, which, according to him, is aimed to undermine understandings reached between Moscow and Washington.

"We shared with our colleagues our assessment of the latest developments surrounding the Ukrainian crisis, including the latest 'games' that the Europeans are playing in an attempt to undermine the existing agreements between the Russian Federation and the United States," he said.

Lavrov argued that US President Donald Trump had continued to speak positively about agreements reached during the Alaska summit last August, while European countries and Ukraine seek to derail the process.

"If you read President Trump's remarks immediately after the Alaska summit, he spoke in very favorable terms about the agreements, saying that we had launched a process," he said. "Europe and Ukraine said they had not participated and that it did not concern them."

"President Trump does not say that the Alaska agreements no longer exist. But the Europeans and the Ukrainian regime have publicly declared that the Alaska agreements are dead and that they buried them," the minister added.

Lavrov said Western countries try to obstruct Moscow's cooperation with African states and restore the influence of former colonial powers.

"They want, by fair means or foul, to prevent cooperation between Russia and African countries and, broadly speaking, to return to a situation where the former colonial powers dominate these countries," he said.

As an example, Lavrov referred to the detention of 200,000 tons of Russian wheat in European ports in 2022, saying the European Union delayed its transfer after Russia pledged to donate it free of charge to African countries in need.

Turning to the situation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, Lavrov said Russia was working to counter "threats posed by Ukraine to freedom of navigation."

"President Vladimir Putin is working to ensure that all this is stopped," Lavrov said when asked about reported attacks on vessels in the region.

The Russian foreign minister accused Kyiv of carrying out attacks aimed solely at causing damage.

"This is no longer even piracy. Pirates at least rob and take something for themselves. Here it is neither for themselves nor for anyone else — simply to inflict damage and spread fear. It is pure terrorism," he said.

He said Ukraine cooperates with everyone willing, including "African extremists seeking to overthrow legitimate governments" and other groups in an effort to harm Russia.

Lavrov said Turkish media had reported new attacks by Ukrainian sea drones against Turkish ships and tankers transporting Turkish cargo, adding that the Blue Stream pipeline supplying gas to Türkiye had also been subjected to repeated "terrorist attacks."

The minister reassured that Russia would continue supplying food to African countries despite ongoing geopolitical tensions. "

We will continue to fulfill all our obligations on food supplies to our African friends, both under commercial contracts and through humanitarian assistance, in accordance with their wishes, as we have done and continue to do," he said