Shaharbeen Times | International Affairs | June 23, 2025
US Strikes Backfire: Russia Claims Nations Ready to Arm Iran with Nuclear Warheads
Iran Heads to Moscow for Urgent Talks Amid Escalating Tensions
In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing West Asia crisis, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday claimed that several countries are now prepared to directly supply Iran with nuclear warheads in response to American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Medvedev’s remarks, posted on X (formerly Twitter), come just hours after the United States joined Israel in targeting Iran’s key nuclear infrastructure in Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow late Saturday night.
“The United States has achieved the opposite of what it intended,” Medvedev wrote. “Instead of preventing nuclear escalation, it has only strengthened Iran’s resolve and opened the door for others to arm Tehran directly with nuclear warheads.” Although Medvedev did not name the countries he was referring to, his post suggested that geopolitical alliances are shifting rapidly in favor of Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, reacting swiftly to the strikes, announced that he would travel to Moscow for high-level consultations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Addressing reporters during a press conference on the sidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Istanbul, Araghchi confirmed, “Russia is a friend of Iran, we always consult with each other. I’m going to Moscow this afternoon for serious discussions with President Putin tomorrow morning.”
The US strikes, authorised by President Donald Trump, mark the first direct American military intervention against Iranian nuclear facilities since the 1979 Revolution. US officials have described the strikes as a “necessary step” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, claiming they were narrowly aimed at disabling enrichment capabilities. However, early reports suggest only limited damage to core nuclear infrastructure.
Speaking at the OIC summit, Araghchi condemned the attacks as a blatant breach of international law. “They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities,” he said. He further warned that Iran will invoke Article 51 of the UN Charter, which allows for the right to self-defence. “We have to respond,” he declared.
Medvedev, who currently serves as the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, also questioned the effectiveness of the US military action. “Critical infrastructure of the nuclear fuel cycle appears to have been unaffected or sustained only minor damage,” he noted. “The enrichment of nuclear material – and now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons – will continue.”
The former Russian president went on to claim that the strikes had, ironically, bolstered Iran politically. “Iran’s political regime has survived — and in all likelihood, has come out even stronger. The people are rallying around the country’s spiritual leadership, including those who were previously indifferent or opposed to it.”
He also painted a dire picture for Israel, stating that its population is now under constant threat, with multiple explosions being reported across the country. “The United States is now entangled in a new conflict, with prospects of a ground operation looming on the horizon,” Medvedev added.
On the diplomatic front, Araghchi dismissed any expectations that Iran would return to negotiations in the current environment. “We were in the middle of diplomacy. We were in the middle of talks with the United States when Israelis blew it up,” he said, referring to the sudden breakdown of backchannel talks in Geneva. “It was not Iran, but the US that betrayed diplomacy.”
He further emphasized that discussions with European intermediaries were ongoing just two days before the US strikes. “And again, this time, Americans decided to blow it up,” Araghchi added. “They have proved that they are not men of diplomacy, and they only understand the language of threat and force. And this is very unfortunate.”
As Iran prepares for critical talks in Moscow and military tensions escalate across the Gulf, the world watches anxiously. The United Nations has called for an emergency Security Council meeting, while oil prices surged sharply amid fears of a full-scale regional conflict. With lines drawn and rhetoric intensifying, West Asia teeters on the edge of a conflict that could reshape global geopolitics.
