Russia Warns Fresh Attacks on Iran Risk Nuclear Incident, Threaten Global Stability
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that a fresh attack on Iran would bring dire consequences for the international community. The warning was delivered by Lavrov in an interview with Al Arabiya.
“The consequences would be grave,” Lavrov stated emphatically. He recalled that attacks on Iran had occurred previously, targeting nuclear facilities under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Lavrov was referring to the United States and Israeli strikes against Iran in June 2025. He argued that the attacks not only undermined the authority of the IAEA and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but also posed a real risk of a nuclear incident.
“The situation is more or less stable at present, based on data from our Iranian colleagues,” he said. However, he stressed that strikes on nuclear facilities forced Iran to consider the physical protection of nuclear material under IAEA control, which should not be targeted.
Lavrov assessed that the actions of the United States and Israel created not only physical risks but also damaged the authority of the IAEA and the credibility of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Tehran officials have described as binding.
Regarding the nuclear agreement, Lavrov noted that following the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), IAEA oversight of Iranian activities had been unprecedented in scope. Yet, he maintained, Tehran had never been proven to have violated the NPT or its safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
He added that political tensions had escalated after the United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, three years after the agreement came into force.
The sequence of military escalation began in the early hours of 13 June, when Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than 24 hours later, Iran retaliated. Nine days afterwards, on the morning of 22 June, American jets struck three Iranian nuclear facilities, entering the conflict directly.
The following evening, Tehran launched missile strikes on Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military installation in the region. American authorities stated there were no casualties or significant damage from the attack.
On 24 June, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a total ceasefire. Israel stated it accepted the American proposal, claiming to have achieved all of its operational objectives against Iran. Meanwhile, Tehran declared it had achieved victory by forcing Tel Aviv to unilaterally halt its aggression.