Asked about the impact of Russia’s Ukraine invasion on the nuclear negotiations, a U.S. diplomatic spokesperson asserted that “it remains in our interest to see to it that Iran is never able to acquire a nuclear weapon. The fact that Russia has now invaded Ukraine should not give Iran the green light to develop a nuclear weapon, to weaponise, to move towards the point at which it can quickly acquire a nuclear weapon. It remains as in our interest today to deny Iran that ability”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson on 28 February similarly indicated that “the Ukraine war has nothing to do diplomatically with the ongoing talks in Vienna”.