Strengthening of Iran’s intentions to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) may open the way for the collapse of the nuclear deal and potential military confrontation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

On Wednesday, Ryabkov visited Iran for holding talks at the Foreign Ministry. The diplomat said in the interview, released late on the same day, that Russia had expressed its concerns over Tehran’s strengthening intentions to leave the deal to Iran during the consultations.

“This may pave the way for a collapse of the JCPOA and the emergence of a chaotic situation, in which risks of a military confrontation would further increase,” Ryabkov pointed out.

Ryabkov also said that the United States is exerting severe pressure on Iran without offering any alternative options to the Middle Eastern country.

“We can see the severe pressure on the part of the United States toward Iran and [we can see] the attempts to blackmail this country … At the same time, there is no positive agenda and the United States is not suggesting any alternative options. It only declares, including on the high level, that it is open for dialogue. But it is not a basis for real talks,” Ryabkov said in the interview released late on Wednesday.

The diplomat insisted that if the United States was willing to engage in dialogue with Iran, it should make suggestions on what it was ready to offer Iran in exchange for beginning talks on the new nuclear deal terms.

This May marks the one-year anniversary of the United States withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Over the recent months, tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated with both sides warning each other about the possibility of a military confrontation but saying they wanted to avoid it.

Source: Sputnik