Israel pushing the region to nuclear catastrophe, warns Russia

UNITED NATIONS: Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia strongly condemned Israel’s strikes on Iran, warning that Israel’s actions in the Middle East are “pushing the region toward a large-scale nuclear catastrophe.”

The UN Security Council met in emergency session hours after Israel’s deadly air strikes against targets in Iran.

“This completely unprovoked attack, no matter what Israel says to the contrary, is a gross violation of the UN Charter and international law,” Vassily Nebenzia said, expressing Russia’s “strong condemnation” of the strikes.

He accused “Western members” of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – of contributing to the current crisis through their policies toward Iran and its nuclear programme.

“They have been doing everything to fuel the escalation and essentially incited it,” he told ambassadors.

Nebenzia concluded by urging renewed diplomatic efforts. “Once again, settling issues related to the Iranian nuclear programme is only possible if a peaceful, political, and diplomatic pathway is followed,” he said.

Meanwhile, Iran said the dialogue with the U.S. over Tehran’s nuclear programme is “meaningless” after Israel’s military strike against its longstanding enemy, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.

“The other side (the U.S.) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission.