Obama Urged To Pressure Iran On Russia Barter Deal

Tehran, April 8, IRNA- Two American senators say the US is prepared to reinstate the anti-Iran sanctions eased under an interim nuclear deal, if the Islamic Republic and Russia pursue a possible energy barter deal. In a Monday letter, senators Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) urged US President Barack Obama to warn Tehran that if it moves forward with a swap deal with Moscow, Washington is ready to reinstate the bans eased under the November 2013 interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear energy program, Press TV reported on Tuesday. In late November 2013, Iran and the P5+1 group – Russia, China, France, Britain, the US and Germany – signed an interim accord over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program. The deal took effect on January 20. On April 6, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Managing Director Rokneddin Javadi said Tehran and Moscow are engaged in serious negotiations to launch a south-north reverse oil swap project, adding, however, that the time for the start of the swap operation has not been finalized yet. Under the Geneva agreement, the P5+1 (the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe. Menendez and Kirk were the lead sponsors of a draft bill introduced in December 2013 to impose more sanctions on Iran only a month after the signing of the Geneva accord./end