Russia accuses Trump of ‘opening Pandora’s box’ with strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites

Russia has accused Donald Trump of ‘opening Pandora’s box’ with the US bombardments on three Iranian nuclear facilities.

United Nations ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told an emergency meeting of the US Security Council that ‘no one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it [the attacks] will bring.’

He said Russia offered to mediate an agreeable solution to Iran’s nuclear programme, but the US – especially its leaders – are ‘clearly not interested in diplomacy today.’

Nebenzia warned: ‘Unless we stop the escalation, the Middle East will find itself on the verge of a large scale conflict with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security system, plus the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster.’

This comes as Vladimir Putin confirmed he will meet Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi in Moscow today.

While the Kremlin’s call for restraint may be a little ironic – after all, it is not exactly known for straying away from global provocations – it underscores the level of international alarm following the US attacks.

Israel and Iran continued to trade air and missile strikes overnights as the world braced is bracing for the Islamic Regime’s response.

Trump antagonizes Iran even further

Antagonizing Iran even further, the US president spewed a series of posts on Truth Social about the strikes.

He wrote: ‘Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term… The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!!’

Trump also confirmed that the ‘great’ B-2 bomber pilots behind the strikes landed back in Missouri, after he also called for a regime change in Iran.

‘If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!,’ he said.

At the same time, the Israeli air force said it struck military infrastructure sites in Kermanshah, a city of about a million people in western Iran.

More than 15 Israeli jets were involved in the assault, which the air force said destroyed several missile launch and storage sites.

‘Gambler’ Trump should expect ‘serious consequences’

Iran’s armed forces stressed that the US should expect ‘serious consequences’ for its strikes.

The attacks have expanded the scope of legitimate targets for Iran’s armed forces, a spokesperson for its Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari ended his statement in English: ‘Mr Trump, the gambler, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to end it.’

Iran has already threatened bases used by the US military, with an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying they will be seen as a ‘legitimate target for our armed forces.’

US calls on China to stop Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz

US secretary of state Marco Rubio urged China to help deter Iran from shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial trade route, after the US strikes.

‘I encourage the Chinese government to call them about that because they heavily depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,’ Rubio told Fox News.

Analysts have said Iran may opt to retaliate by shutting the 103-mile Strait, a waterway through which one-fifth of global oil output passes.

Rubio added: ‘If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake.

‘It’s economic suicide for them if they do it, and we retain options to deal with that.

‘But other countries should be looking at that as well, it would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours.

‘It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would merit a response. Not just by us but from others.’

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