Alwaght- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Iran's nuclear program is most transparent and Moscow "regrets" to see the 2015 nuclear agreement unravel since America's decision to leave it in May 2018.
Speaking to reporters after talks with Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen on Wednesday, Putin said, "After the signing of the agreement Iran was and still is the world's most verifiable and transparent country in this sense." He added that, "Iran is fulfilling all of its obligations," citing the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Putin aired his frustration with expectations from Moscow to save the landmark agreement, saying Russia was not "a fire brigade" to "rescue everything."
"We regret that the deal is falling apart," Putin said.
He urged Iran not to quit the 2015 agreement but added there was only so much Moscow could do.
Earlier Wednesday Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed concern that tensions over Iran escalated despite assurances from Pompeo that Washington was not seeking war.
"So far we notice the continued escalation of tensions around this subject," Peskov said.
"We are saddened to see the decisions taken by the Iranian side," Peskov added, while arguing that Washington has been provoking Iran.
In Sochi, Pompeo said his country did not want war with Iran, despite a spike in tensions that has seen the Pentagon dispatch nuclear-capable bombers to the region.
Peskov sought to play down those statements.
"There were no assurances from Pompeo," Putin's spokesman said.
Tensions have sharply escalated between Washington and Tehran after Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal which removed sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran's nuclear program, leaving the fate of the deal at the hands of the remaining signatories -- the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany.
Trump's pressure on Iran to renegotiate a deal that would address its ballistic missile program and growing regional influence continued with the imposition of several rounds of sanctions and reached a point where American officials threatened to cut the country's oil exports to zero.
Running out of patience with the EU's inaction in the face of the growing US pressure, Iran reduced its commitments under the deal last week and warned the EU that it would consider leaving the accord after 60 days if its demands were not met.
