Russia warns West against military action on Iran

GlobalPost

Russian and Iran warned the West against taking military action on Iran on Monday, saying the attack would not only lead to civilian deaths but it would create a new threat to global security, Reuters reported.

"This would be a very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences," said Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reported. Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi also warned the west as well, in a separate remark. In St. Petersburg Salehi said Iran “condemns any threat of military attack on independent states,” Reuters reported.

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Lavrov said that diplomacy was the way to solve the Iranian nuclear problem, the BBC reported. His comments followed Israeli President Shimon Peres’ saying an attack on Iran was more likely and the expectation that the United Nations will release this week the International Atomic Energy Agency report, which says Iran is secretly developing nuclear arms capability.

The report is expected either Tuesday or Wednesday, the BBC reported, as Iran insists its nuclear program is exclusively to generate power for civilian purposes. According to the BBC, Salehi also said the report with evidence is a “fabrication and part of a multi-pronged US smear campaign against his country.”

Read more at GlobalPost: Tehran denies nuclear weapons allegations

China also joined the conversation today, urging the west against any military strikes, the Daily Mail reported. However, China asked Tehran not to be confrontational with the IAEA.

During ABC’s This Week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US should never take the option of military force off the table when it comes to Iran, the Daily Mail reported.

Read more at GlobalPost: Are the US and Israel considering a strike on Iran? (VIDEO)


 

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