Vladimir Putin slams attack on Iran but offers no support
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday slammed attacks on Iran as "unprovoked" and "unjustified" in a meeting with Tehran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, but did not announce any concrete support to his key ally in the Middle East.
Moscow is a crucial backer of Iran, but has not swung forcefully behind its partner even as the United States launched strikes on its nuclear facilities over the weekend. The Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov downplayed the exchange after the talks by saying "they were unlikely to be effective" during such a "heated moment".
US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities lack legality: France
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday there was no "framework of legality" regarding the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, adding any regime change in the country should be a result of the will of the people, not of bombs. "There is no framework of legality in these strikes, even if France shares the objective not to see Iran acquire nuclear weapons," he said. afp, reuters
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In 2002, nuclear activity was exposed by a group of Iranian exiles. It became clear that regular IAEA inspections had failed to detect the clandestine programme. Negotiations began in 2003, initially with the three European powers and later including the US. These collapsed when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took over, and starting in 2006, Iran was subjected to successive UN Security Council sanctions. By this time, Iran had established its first enrichment facility at Natanz. Around that time, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa against nuclear weapons, describing them as un-Islamic. The general assessment is that while the fatwa was respected, Iran pursued the technical capabilities to become a nuclear threshold state. 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Other countries in Asia are also likely to draw their own conclusions, revealing the growing fragility of the global nuclear regime. Rakesh Sood is a retired diplomat who served as Ambassador to Afghanistan, Nepal, and France. He also served as India's first Ambassador – Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva and later as PM's Special Envoy for Disarmament and Nonproliferation. He tweets @rakeshnms. Views are personal. (Edited by Prashant)
Time of India
an hour ago
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