WANA (Aug 27) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Moscow would coordinate efforts with Tehran and other countries concerned to counter the latest U.S. economic pressure campaign against Iran.

 

Maria Zakharova, speaking at a press briefing, said the escalation of tensions by the United States and Israel against Iran had created serious consequences for global energy markets, arguing that the situation had put one-fifth of the world’s oil and one-third of its gas at risk.

 

Addressing the new U.S. economic measures targeting Iran and countries cooperating with Tehran, Zakharova said: “We will coordinate efforts to counter illegal initiatives with our Iranian colleagues and other interested countries.”

 

She also said Russia would work alongside like-minded countries to reduce and ultimately eliminate the use of sanctions as a tool in international relations. According to Zakharova, sanctions have increasingly been used to exert pressure on and punish countries whose policies are not accepted by Western governments.

 

Her comments came after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described the latest U.S. economic measures targeting Iran and countries cooperating with Tehran as an attack on national sovereignty and the right of nations to self-determination.

 

China has also responded to the latest U.S. restrictions and threats against buyers of Iranian oil, stressing that its cooperation with Tehran is conducted in accordance with international law and warning against attempts to disrupt or weaken those ties.

 

The positions of Tehran, Moscow and Beijing indicate that the latest U.S. economic pressure could become more than a bilateral confrontation with Iran, potentially driving greater coordination among countries opposed to the unilateral use of sanctions.pposed to the unilateral use of sanctions.