Russia asked the United States not to strike Iran, for it can lead to a radically destabilised Middle East and a nuclear catastrophe eventually, according to the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who spoke on Wednesday. Ryabkov, while speaking at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg, told the national news agency in Moscow that the country was urging Washington to refrain from direct involvement.

“This would be a step that would dramatically destabilise the entire situation,” he said.

In January this year, Russia signed a strategic partnership with Iran and, parallely, also has a relationship with Israel, which has been strained by Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Nuclear Catastrophe

The head of Russia’s SVR, Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said that the situation between the nations is now critical, while Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear infrastructure meant the world was “millimetres” from catastrophe. “Nuclear facilities are being struck,” she said. According to her, the UN nuclear safety watchdog (IAEA) had already noted damage.

“Where is the (concern from the) entire world community, where are the environmentalists? I don’t know if they think they are far away and that this (radiation) wave won’t reach them. Well, let them read what happened at Fukushima,” said Maria, referring to the 2011 accident at the Japanese nuclear plant.