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Question: In an interview with NBC News on May 4, 2025, US President Donald Trump said he believes Iran’s nuclear programme should be completely dismantled with the exception of the peaceful use of nuclear energy.  Have such US proposals been discussed in the ongoing contacts between Russia and the United States, particularly regarding Iran’s nuclear programme?  Does Russia believe Iran should be allowed to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes?

Maria Zakharova: This is not simply a matter of opinion or adjustment on our part. It is a matter of international law. Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), all non-nuclear-weapon states have the legitimate right to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This is explicitly stated in Article IV of the NPT.

In fact, the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the NPT Review Conference is currently taking place in New York, where particular attention is being paid to international cooperation in nuclear energy and the non-energy applications of nuclear and radiation technologies.

There is a global surge of interest in peaceful nuclear energy as a means of achieving sustainable development and addressing a range of practical challenges facing humanity. Countries clearly need more energy, and nuclear power offers that potential. Today, technologies such as big data processing, advanced medicine, food security, and climate change mitigation are unimaginable without reliable, powerful, and environmentally friendly energy sources, of which nuclear energy is a key example.

This is well understood in Washington and Tehran, as well as in many other countries. The modern economy, government services and logistics – especially amid ongoing digitalisation and the rise of artificial intelligence – require a fundamentally new scale and quality of energy use.

To exclude any country – particularly Iran – from this sector is simply unrealistic. Moreover, there is no legal basis whatsoever for doing so. Russia has been collaborating productively with Tehran in the field of nuclear energy, and we are fully committed to continuing this cooperation. It is carried out in full compliance with the NPT and under the strict oversight of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

It is worth recalling that Iran remains the most thoroughly inspected country by the IAEA and has consistently fulfilled its obligations under the NPT and its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA.

As we understand it, the consistent position of the US administration has been that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons. The current US-Iran discussions – albeit indirect – appear to be focused on this objective. We note the active pace of these contacts, which highlights the determination of both sides to achieve a mutually acceptable result.

For our part, we are fully prepared to contribute to this process, and both Tehran and Washington are well aware of that.

We believe that a pragmatic approach, a well-calibrated balance of interests, and a firm foundation in international law could lead to a viable agreement. Attempts to resolve the situation around the Iran’s nuclear programme through discriminatory measures ­ or worse, through the use of force – are counterproductive and will only escalate tensions. That must not be allowed to happen.

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