"I have no doubt that Iran is adhering to the rules in this area. Because there is no proof of the opposite," Putin told Russian English-language channel RT on Tuesday.

Putin also criticized the US for using Iran as a pretext “to unite Western allies against some real or non-existent threat."

Russia is a close trading partner with Iran and has built its first nuclear reactor near the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program and have used the unfounded accusation as a pretext to impose illegal sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.