MOSCOW. May 6 (Interfax) - The United States' new sanctions against Iran don't pursue the goal of non-proliferation and violate the United Nations Charter, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"The U.S. has renounced its obligations under the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and is demonstratively violating UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and also Article 25 of the UN Charter. An example of it is the tightening of anti-Iranian sanctions that has just been announced by Washington. All this stems from considerations that are far from [the goal of] non-proliferation," the ministry's website quoted the deputy director of the ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, Oleg Rozhkov, as saying at a meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.
The U.S. 'isn't hiding that its task is to undermine today's Iranian state, change power in this sovereign country and place any international cooperation with Tehran under its single-handed control," he said.
"The fact that the U.S. is trying to manipulate with non-proliferation requirements in order to justify its anti-Iranian course is only adding to our concern," Rozhkov said.
The U.S.' threats to impose sanctions on the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency and their member states for support and compliance with decisions as part of the JCPOA are "unlawful and unacceptable," he said.
"We urge the U.S. to come to its senses and return to compliance with its international obligations," he said.
The U.S. Department of State earlier announced additional restrictions directed against the Iranian nuclear program. Washington also called on Tehran to stop enriching uranium.