West: Russia can torpedo Iran deal

France, Britain and Germany yesterday warned Russia that its demands to have its trade guaranteed with Iran risked the collapse of an almost-completed nuclear deal. Last Saturday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov unexpectedly demanded sweeping guarantees that Russian trade with Iran would not be affected by sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Washington has already insisted it will not agree to Russia's demands. The 11-month-old international talks seek to bring Iran back into compliance with the deal's restrictions on its rapidly advancing nuclear activities and bring the United States back into the accord it left in 2018 under former President Donald Trump.