The Iranian parliament’s decision to halt cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is advisory in nature, and Russia hopes that their coordination will continue, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said following talks with his Laotian counterpart, Thongsavan Phomvihane, TASS reports.

“I cannot comment in detail on the Iranian parliament’s decision to terminate cooperation with the IAEA, as it remains a recommendation to the executive branch," Lavrov stated. "We are interested in seeing continued cooperation between Iran and the IAEA.”

He emphasized that Russia expects the international community to respect the repeated assurances from Iran’s supreme leader that Tehran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons.

"There is a special fatwa to this effect—a religious decree that carries the highest authority in the Islamic republic," Lavrov noted

Iran’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to temporarily suspend the country’s cooperation with the IAEA.