Lavrov: Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear energy

Sergey Lavrov stated that Iranlike any participant NPThas the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.

Russia reaffirmed its support for the right Iran for peaceful enrichment of uranium. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov stated that Tehranlike any other state party Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), has the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

According to Dawn with reference to Al Jazeera, Lavrov stated at a press conference in Moscow: “Iran, like any other party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, has every right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.”.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry also emphasized that Moscow does not intend to interfere in the negotiation process between Washington And Tehran. According to him, Russia will support any decisions that will be agreed upon and adopted by the negotiators themselves – in this case USA And Islamic Republic of Iran.

What’s behind Moscow’s statement?

Position Russia is based on a formal principle NPT: Non-nuclear-weapon states have the right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, subject to compliance with non-proliferation obligations and outside control IAEA. This is precisely the argument Moscow uses when it says that Iran’s demand for a complete renunciation of any enrichment goes beyond the scope of the treaty itself.

This line has been heard before. In February 2026 Xinhua conveyed the words Lavrova that the requirement for Iran to completely renounce the right to enrich uranium contradicts NPT. In April, he again called Iran’s right to peaceful enrichment “inherent”what he reported Times of Israel.

Why is the USA against

For USA The problem lies not only in the legal right to a peaceful atom, but in the practical level of risk. Washington requires that Iran limited or stopped internal enrichment, and transferred the accumulated reserves of enriched uranium to the United States. According to ReutersThe United States continues to insist on the export of Iranian enriched uranium and an end to domestic enrichment, while Tehran considers this right irrevocable.

Of particular concern is the presence of Iran’s reserves of uranium enriched to high levels. As I wrote euronewswe are talking about 400 kg uranium enriched to 60%which is well above the level required for conventional nuclear power and closer to the threshold that raises military concerns.

That is why the dispute over the Iranian program has long gone beyond the formula “has the right – does not have the right”. Formally, the right to peaceful enrichment exists. But the question is what volumes, what levels of enrichment, what controls and what guarantees can convince Iran’s opponents that the program does not have a military dimension.

Russia as a possible mediator

Statement Lavrova it is also important because Russia appears in negotiations as a possible storage or processing site for Iranian enriched uranium. Previously Axios wrote that the president Vladimir Putin proposed the option of exporting part of Iranian uranium to Russia as an element of a possible deal.

For Tehran this option is politically more convenient than transferring uranium USA: It allows you to save face and present the solution as a technical measure with the participation of a friendly power. For Washington the key question is whether such a scheme will be verifiable, irreversible and sufficient to reduce the risk of military use of the program.

Editorial comment

Position Russia legally based on a strong argument: NPT indeed does not prohibit states from developing a peaceful nuclear program and enriching uranium under control. But in case Iran The problem has long become not only a legal one, but a political-military one: trust in Tehran’s intentions has been destroyed by years of sanctions, secret facilities, inspection disputes and threats of war.

Therefore the statement Lavrova — this is not just support for Iran, but an attempt to fix the principle: international rules cannot be rewritten for a specific enemy. But Iran, if it wants to avoid a new blow, will have to prove that its program truly remains peaceful. International law is here, as usual. The problem is that all parties are reading it with a magnifying glass, but each is reading its own page.

Source link