Russian company TVEL, a subsidiary of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, has suspended a research project with Iran that was designed to convert the latter's Fordow uranium enrichment site to produce medical isotopes. But the decision doesn't mean Moscow is reducing its support for Iran in the face of American pressure.

Since the United States withdrew last year from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal with world powers — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — Tehran has been reducing its commitments under the deal. For one, it decided Nov. 6 to resume uranium enrichment at Fordow. TVEL, which has been working on converting the site since 2017, announced Dec. 5 it was withdrawing because the enrichment activity is incompatible with producing radioactive isotopes for medical purposes.

"The [project] has been suspended but not stopped. We need to analyze the situation and look at the American statements that, as of Dec.15, they’d be applying their illegal sanctions to the key JCPOA deal,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov explained to TASS, alluding to yet another motivation Russia might have for its Fordow decision.

At the same time, the Fordow project doesn’t seem to have been of high importance to any of the JCPOA parties. In fact, Iran itself virtually decided to sacrifice it as part of reducing its commitments under the nuclear deal. So Russia, after two years at the site, took its hands off the project as well, and did so rather quickly.