Trump criticises Russian former president Medvedev over nuclear rhetoric

The National

5 hours ago

US President Donald Trump criticised a former Russian leader for saying some countries were ready and willing to send nuclear warheads to support Iran.
'The 'N word' should not be treated so casually. I guess that's why Putin's 'THE BOSS',' Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
He was referring to a recent thread on X in which former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of Russia 's Security Council, said a number of countries 'are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads'.
Mr Medvedev's comments were focused on the effects of US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at the weekend, which were carried out in support of Israel, currently engaged in its own air war against the country.
'Critical infrastructure of the nuclear fuel cycle appears to have been unaffected or sustained only minor damage,' he said. 'The enrichment of nuclear material – and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons – will continue.'
This runs counter to the narrative out of Washington, with Mr Trump having said the strikes on the sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had ' obliterated ' Iran's nuclear enrichment programme.
'At this rate, Trump can forget about the Nobel Peace Prize – not even with how rigged it has become,' Mr Medvedev added. 'What a way to kick things off, Mr President. Congratulations!'
Mr Trump has said in the past that he deserves a Nobel Prize for his spearheading of the Abraham Accords, which established relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco. A day before the US strikes, Pakistan nominated Mr Trump for the award due to him defusing a recent crisis between Pakistan and India.
Russia is a long-time ally of Iran, and Tehran has provided Russia with technology and components for drones Moscow has used in the war in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin told Iran's Foreign Minister on Monday that the US strikes were 'unprovoked and unjustified', and Moscow has railed against both the US and Israel at the UN Security Council, but no concrete support for Tehran has been announced.