Russia Condemns Latest US Strikes on Iran, Warns of Escalation
Russia has responded to the latest United States strikes on Iran, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stating the attacks have undermined all efforts to resolve the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear programme. He asserted that the US operation violated a memorandum of understanding recently signed between Iran and President Donald Trump’s administration last month.
Lavrov delivered the stern remarks during a joint press conference following diplomatic talks with Chadian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul in Moscow on Tuesday. “The most important thing is that this does not lead to a settlement. It closes the door that, it seemed, had been opened by that memorandum,” he said. “We view this as a violation of the memorandum. This is very regrettable because civilian infrastructure in Iran and civilian facilities in the Gulf states are suffering. This is not moving in a good direction.”
Tensions have spiked after the US and Iran engaged in renewed tit-for-tat strikes since last week. In an update on Wednesday, the US military said a series of follow-up strikes hit “dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and coastal areas of Iran”. Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed “until America’s crimes end”. Tehran’s military threatened to target oil and gas export routes serving the US and its allies if the conflict continues.
The IRGC claimed to have destroyed the US Fifth Fleet’s command centre, support facilities, and fuel tanks in Bahrain, while also targeting a major US military logistics hub in Mina Abdullah, Kuwait. Jordan’s military said its air defences intercepted and shot down three Iranian ballistic missiles that violated the country’s airspace on Wednesday morning.
Oil prices rose this morning after Trump reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports and Iran launched retaliatory strikes against US bases in the region. The US Treasury Department said it had frozen more than US$130 million by imposing sanctions on several cryptocurrency wallets linked to Iran’s Central Bank. This escalation follows a mid-June peace deal mediated by Pakistan intended to permanently end the war that erupted last February. Russia assessed the collapse of this commitment as deeply regrettable due to its direct adverse impact on civilian facilities.