Russia Warns of New Strikes on Iran
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says signals that new military action is being planned against Iran are extremely alarming, as Moscow urges more diplomacy and says its uranium offer still stands
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that signs of planned new military action against Iran are “extremely alarming,” a day before US midterm elections and as mediators step up efforts to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the remarks at a press briefing in Moscow, according to Breaking The News.
“The situation surrounding Iran, which has been subjected to unprovoked aggression by the US and Israel, remains complex,” Zakharova said. She said the conflict remains unresolved and is intertwined with other crises in the Middle East. The painful experience of recent months, she said, shows that military adventures, which bring death and destruction to Iran, cannot break Iranians’ will to defend their country’s sovereignty and independence. Those who now threaten new attacks should reconsider, she said. She also called for intensified diplomatic efforts toward a peaceful solution.
Moscow has long described the US and Israeli attacks on Iran as violations of international law. In January the Russian Foreign Ministry called US threats of new strikes “categorically unacceptable,” Reuters reported, and in February Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any new US strike on Iran would have serious consequences. The Kremlin stressed “dire consequences” if hostilities resumed after a call between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump in April.
Russia has also tried to play a role in the diplomacy. Putin told Trump in a call on October 9, which followed his meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenistan, that Moscow’s offer to take Iran’s highly enriched uranium remains on the table, the Kremlin said. Peskov said Putin conveyed Iran’s views on a possible settlement in coordination with Pezeshkian, who told Putin Tehran remains committed to talks even though “every time we talk to the US, they attack again,” according to Tasnim. Axios reported in March that Trump rejected the uranium proposal, and Trump said in April he would rather see Moscow focus on ending the war in Ukraine.
On Monday Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran will not surrender its enriched uranium, according to Iranian Media.
The warning comes as Trump keeps up his threats. He told an Iowa rally on Sunday that he may eventually have to give Iran “the hammer,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that he has not decided on new strikes. Gulf officials say Washington has warned them strikes could come as early as November 4. Iran’s Foreign Ministry says the “ball is in the US court” while messages move through Qatar and Pakistan.