Russia slams UN vote to reimpose Iran nuclear sanctions

Russia on Saturday slammed the UN Security Council vote to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and warned of a risk of an "escalation of tensions".

"The Russian side has repeatedly pointed out the provocative and illegal nature of the actions of the European countries participating in the JCPOA," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement referring to the 2015 accord intended to persuade Iran to restrict its uranium enrichment.

"These actions have nothing to do with diplomacy and lead exclusively to a further escalation of tensions surrounding the Iranian nuclear program," it added.