Russian Ambassador to Iranian Media: Use the Term "Russian Special Military Operations" in Ukraine

The Russian ambassador to Iran called on Iranian media to refrain from using the phrase "Russian military invasion" in relation to Ukraine and instead use the term "Russian special military operations."

In a limited press conference on Wednesday, March 8, Levan Dzhagarian said in response to the question of how long Moscow's military offensive would continue: "We will continue this operation until we achieve our goals in Ukraine."

In recent days, in addition to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, which has led to widespread opposition on social media, a rally in front of the Ukrainian embassy in Tehran, and the slogan "Death to Putin and Putin's supporters," Russia's approach to the JCPOA negotiations has also faced harsh criticism.

The Russian ambassador to Iran, while rejecting accusations that Moscow is trying to destroy the negotiations to revive the JCPOA, stated: "We want the JCPOA to come to fruition, but our own interests are also important to us."

Stating that Russia played a "significant role" in the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Mr. Jagarian accused Western powers of seeking to create a rift and division between Tehran and Moscow.

Asked why Iranian officials were not aware of Russia's request for written guarantees from the United States, he said: "We are in contact with our Iranian counterparts regarding this issue, but I cannot give details, and only high-ranking officials in Tehran and negotiators in Vienna are aware."

France called Russia's recent request regarding the JCPOA "blackmail" of the JCPOA negotiations, and the United States has also said that the Russian request is "irrelevant."

The Russian Foreign Minister said on March 4 that the United States must provide written guarantees that the new sanctions imposed on Moscow due to its invasion of Ukraine will not have a negative impact on Iran-Russia trade relations after the JCPOA is revived.

"We want guarantees that these [Ukrainian] sanctions will not in any way affect our economic and trade relations [with Iran] as stipulated under the JCPOA," he said.

In this context, Levan Jagarian, in response to news published about Russia's request for guarantees for the JCPOA, said: "We call on the Iranian people not to listen to the statements of foreign radio stations such as Radio Farda."

The Russian ambassador to Iran has a history of criticizing Radio Farda. In June of last year, in response to the publication of several analytical notes on Radio Farda, Levan Jagaryan accused the media outlet of "trying to harm the friendly relations between Iran and Russia."

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine over the past week, a flood of sanctions has poured in on Moscow, to the point that, according to statistics, this is the most extensive sanctions regime in history ever used against a country.

These sanctions have severely devalued the Russian national currency, the ruble, over the past 10 days, and many foreign companies have withdrawn from the country's market.

In justifying Moscow's military invasion of Ukraine, the Russian ambassador to Tehran accused the United States of producing chemical weapons in Ukraine for years.

He claimed that Moscow would soon reveal the details of this matter.

Source: Radio Farda