Ex-Russian President and top Putin aide has said “…a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,” without naming the countries.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, hours after U.S. airstrikes hit three Iranian nuclear sites.
Speaking from Istanbul during the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit, Araghchi called the strikes a “very big red line” and vowed Tehran would respond.
“Russia is a friend of Iran, we always consult with each other,” he said. “I’m going to Moscow this afternoon for serious consultations with the Russian president tomorrow morning.”
The strikes, ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, followed an Israeli-led campaign and were aimed at disrupting Iran’s nuclear capabilities. However, Moscow reacted sharply.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and now deputy head of its Security Council, accused Trump of dragging the U.S. into a new war. “Trump, who came in as a peacemaker president, has started a new war for the U.S.,” he posted on Telegram.
He claimed the strikes failed militarily and politically bolstered Iran’s leadership. “Iran’s political regime has survived—and likely grown stronger,” he wrote. He also warned that “a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,” though he did not name them.
Meanwhile, Araghchi dismissed any immediate return to diplomacy. “It was not Iran, but the US who betrayed diplomacy,” he said. “They have proved that they only understand the language of threat and force. And this is very unfortunate.”