Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on President Joe Biden to stop working with Russia in Iran nuclear talks in Vienna.
In a tweet on Monday, Pompeo urged Biden to “stop partnering with Russia to cut a deal with Iran”.
He added that “When China and Russia are on your side of the table negotiating ‘against’ Iran, you are putting America and Israel at risk”.
One day after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the United States announced that it will continue to work with Russia on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Friday said that Washington will continue to engage with Moscow over efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even though Moscow's invasion of Ukraine had made it a "pariah on the world stage”.
Earlier on Sunday, Israel's former national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat said Iran’s nuclear program is a far more direct threat to Israel’s security than the Ukrainian crisis, warning that Tehran can “take advantage of the global tumult in order to make progress on the nuclear program and other areas”.
Some have expressed reservations about continuing to involve Russia in high-stakes diplomatic and security issues, while Moscow has up-ended the international security structures by its attack on Ukraine with the declared aim of replacing its elected government and deciding its foreign policy course.