Russia Condemns US Attack on Iran, Warns of Nuclear Bomb Threat

The Russian government condemned the United States and its ally Israel’s attack on Iran. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the war could, in fact, spur the emergence of forces inside Iran that support obtaining a nuclear bomb. “The logical consequence of the actions by the United States and Israel,” Lavrov told a news conference on Tuesday, 3 March 2026, “would be that a force would emerge in Iran… that supports doing exactly what the United States wants to avoid – acquiring a nuclear bomb.” “Because the United States does not strike those who possess nuclear weapons,” Lavrov added, as quoted by Al Jazeera and cited by detikNews on Wednesday, 4 March. He went on to say that Arab states could join the race to obtain nuclear weapons given recent events, and that “the problem of nuclear proliferation could begin to spiral out of control.” Israel is widely regarded as the Middle East’s sole nuclear-armed state, which has neither confirmed nor denied its status. Lavrov said he had already spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday, 3 March, and that Moscow stood ready to help find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. When the United States and Israel launched their first strikes against Iran on Saturday, 28 February, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the two countries of “planned and unprovoked armed aggression against a sovereign and independent United Nations member state.” The ministry added that the two countries had concealed their true aim of toppling Tehran’s regime “under the pretext” of negotiations to normalise ties with Iran. “The United States and Israel are rapidly driving the region toward humanitarian, economic, and even radiological disaster,” the ministry warned. “The responsibility for the negative consequences of this man-made crisis, including unpredictable chain reactions and rising violence, lies entirely with them,” the statement said.