Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday condemning the United States for conducting strikes on nuclear sites in Iran, calling the attacks a violation of international law.
“Russia strongly condemns the U.S. strikes carried out at dawn on June 22 against a number of nuclear facilities in Iran, following Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic,” the ministry said.
Russian diplomats said the missile and bomb strikes on the territory of a sovereign state constituted a flagrant breach of international law and the U.N. Charter, “regardless of the arguments used to justify them.”
It is particularly alarming that the strikes were carried out by a country that is a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. The consequences of this action — including radiological ones — have yet to be assessed. But it is already clear that a dangerous new escalation has begun, one that threatens to further undermine regional and global security. The risk of the conflict expanding in the Middle East — which is already engulfed in numerous crises — has increased significantly.
The ministry urged the leadership of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.N. Security Council to respond. “It is essential to collectively reject the confrontational actions of the United States and Israel,” the statement said. “We call for an end to the aggression and for renewed efforts to return the situation to a political and diplomatic track.”