Press TV - Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran-Russia relations are at their strongest in decades, adding that such sustainable ties will benefit both countries and guarantee global peace and security.

�Today, relations between Iran and Russia are at their highest peak in comparison to the previous decades and we hope that we will be able to maintain these relations all the more powerfully and in a longer-lasting fashion,� Zarif said in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday.

He added that mutual relations �are certainly in line with the two countries� interests and based on mutual respect and will guarantee peace and security in the world.�

He hailed Russia�s opposition to US unilateral policies against Iran during sessions held at the United Nations Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The top Iranian diplomat said the vote of Russia and China against the IAEA Board of Governors� anti-Iran resolution and their stern opposition to US attempts to extend the UN Security Council�s arms embargo on Tehran indicated �consolidated relations among Iran, Russia and China and their resistance against the US unilateralism.�

The stance of China and Russia highlighted their leading role in maintaining the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

China and Russia last month rebuked the UN nuclear agency for giving in to US bullying as the IAEA�s Board of Governor passed a resolution critical of Iran for the first time since 2012.

The resolution, submitted by France, Britain and Germany � the three European signatories to the JCPOA � came at a time when the United States is working to extend an arms embargo against Iran as part of Washington�s so-called �maximum pressure� campaign against Tehran in violation of the JCPOA and the Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses the accord.

Under the JCPOA, the restrictions imposed on Iran's purchase and sale of arms should be lifted in October

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif said his current visit is a good opportunity for Iranian and Russian officials to discuss mutual issues and the latest developments in the region, particularly in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen.

Chances to preserve Iran nuclear deal still exist: Lavrov

The Russian foreign minister, for his part, said his meeting with Zarif was an �important stage� in the joint efforts by the remaining members of the JCPOA to maintain this �most important achievement of multilateral diplomacy.�

Lavrov emphasized that there are still chances to preserve the international nuclear accord.

�We consider the line that our American colleagues took to completely unravel this important document to be destructive, as has been the case with other documents on non-proliferation,� he said.

�Nevertheless, we are confident that chances for the JCPOA to return to a stable course still remain, at least we, like our Iranian friends, are doing our best to this end,� the top Russian diplomat pointed out.

Lavrov added that China and the remaining European members of the JCPOA seem to be willing to preserve the agreement as well.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the deal and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran, because of it.