U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton. Photo: Michael Vadon via Flickr.

JNS.org – Russia accused United Against Nuclear Iran, a prominent group that opposed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, of attempting to “intimidate Russian business,” prompting US National Security Advisor John Bolton to come to UANI’s defense.

“Any attempts to intimidate Russian business are a continuation of the indecent acts by the current US administration,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Friday, citing a series of letters that Mark Wallace, UANI chief executive and a former ambassador with the US mission to the United Nations, as an example. “The Russian business must be guided by the rules of national laws, not by the statements and rules by the notorious organizations of political nature from abroad.”

“The fact that such letters are sent by the NGOs and signed by the people who call themselves ambassador only degrade the state of the American diplomacy,” she added. “They only show the inability of Washington to comply with its international obligations.”

Wallace sent letters to firms, requesting verification that they “will be terminating all Iran business” due to America’s reimposition of sanctions on Iran.

Bolton, who was an advisory board member for UANI, blasted Zakharova’s statement: “If President Putin is serious about stabilizing the Middle East, confronting terrorism & preventing a nuclear arms race in the region, he should stand with UANI & against Iran,” he tweeted.