Russia blames Trump for Iran nuclear crisis, says E3 has turned to 'diplomacy at the barrel of the gun'

"The United States abandoned JCPOA, and since then the situation started [to] deteriorate," Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's UN Ambassador, said Thursday.

"We should not confuse the real source of the problem that happened in 2018," he added in reference to Trump's decision to drop the U.S. from the JCPOA over Iran's alleged violation of the agreement. 

"We all know that the measures that were taken by Iran in terms of uranium enrichment, they were taken in response to the U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA," the Russian diplomat said Thursday.  "And these measures can easily be reviewed."

But given Iran's refusal to comply when a similar extension was floated in July by E3 negotiators, it seems unlikely that the U.S., France or the U.K., as permanent members of the UNSC, will agree to push the action forward.

But despite clear evidence that Iran has in recent years violated the JCPOA, including by amassing up to 45 times the amount of enriched uranium that it is permitted to have, operating advanced centrifuges and denying the IAEA access to its nuclear sites, the Russian official claimed the "move by E3 cannot and should not entail any legal or procedural effect."

The official also said that there had been "very intense diplomacy" over the last "12 months, 6 months, 6 weeks," but which Russia appeared to dismiss on Thursday.

"The world is at a crossroads," Polyanskiy said. "It's quite clear. One option is peace, diplomacy and goodwill. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's questions.