'Pandora's Box': Russia Issues New Warning to Trump Over Iran
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Russia accused the U.S. of having "opened a Pandora's box" with its strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead on Saturday, June 21, for the U.S. to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites, including the Fordow uranium enrichment plant buried deep in a mountain.
The strikes involved the U.S. directly in Israel's ongoing war against Iran. Israel and the U.S. acted to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran said it does not seek to build a nuclear bomb and that its facilities are for nuclear energy.
At a United Nations Security Council meeting on Sunday, June 22, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that Washington "yet again demonstrated its complete contempt for the position of the international community."
"Washington reasserted that, to further the interests of its Israeli ally, it's prepared not only to turn a blind eye to the killings of tens of thousands of Palestinian women, children, and older persons but also to gamble with the safety and well-being of humanity as a whole," Nebenzia said, referring to the war in Gaza.
"Through their actions, the US has opened a Pandora's box. No one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring."
Iran has vowed to respond forcefully and said U.S. targets in the region are now legitimate as a consequence of the strikes. It also warned of a regional war.
This is a developing article. Updates to follow.
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UN nuclear agency says significant damage expected at Iranian underground site — 5:09 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By the Associated Press The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Monday that 'very significant damage' is expected at Iran's underground facility at Fordo after a U.S. airstrike there this weekend with sophisticated bunker-buster bombs. Advertisement Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, made the statement in Vienna. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Given the explosive payload utilized and the extreme vibration sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred,' Grossi said. UK's Lammy says US not going after Iran's 'civilian leadership' — 4:02 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By the Associated Press Britain's foreign minister says he is confident the US is not seeking to overthrow Iran's government despite a social media post from President Trump suggesting it might be a good idea. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday that 'it's clear from Israel and the United States that they're not going after the civilian leadership' in Tehran. He said 'that's not what's under consideration at this time.' Lammy said he spoke to Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, and the UK is pushing to 'get the Iranians back to serious diplomacy.' Advertisement Lammy told the BBC he has 'not seen an assessment yet' of whether the strikes 'seriously degraded Iran's ability to come up with a nuclear program.' He added that 'ultimately this has to be dealt with by diplomacy.' Iran has a 'free hand' to act against US interests, top general says — 3:52 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By the Associated Press Iranian Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the chief of joint staff of armed forces, warned the US on Monday that its strikes gave a 'free hand' to Iranian armed forces to 'act against US interests and its army.' Mousavi stressed Iran would not hesitate to do so after the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday. He described the American attack as violating Iran's sovereignty, entering the Israeli war on the country and being tantamount to invading the country. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Mousavi's remarks. North Korea condemns US strikes on Iran — 2:55 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By the Associated Press North Korea says it 'strongly condemns' the US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, calling it an egregious violation of Iran's territorial integrity and security interests. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that the United States and Israel were escalating tensions in the Middle East through the use of military force, and called on the 'just-minded international community' to raise a unified voice against their 'confrontational behavior.' During his first term, President Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times in 2018 and 2019, but their diplomacy collapsed over disagreements in exchanging the release of US-led sanctions against North Korea and the North's steps to wind down its nuclear and missile program. Kim has since accelerated his arms development while ignoring talk offers by Washington and Seoul. Advertisement He has shifted the priority of his foreign policy to Russia, sending thousands of troops and huge shipments of military equipment to fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. Pakistan condemns Trump for bombing Iran after recommending him for a Nobel Peace Prize — 1:15 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By the Associated Press Pakistan condemned President Trump for bombing Iran, less than 24 hours after saying he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for defusing a recent crisis with India. Relations between the two South Asian countries plummeted after a massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April. The nuclear-armed rivals stepped closer to war in the weeks that followed, attacking each other until intense diplomatic efforts, led by the US, resulted in a truce for which Trump took credit. It was this 'decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership' that Pakistan praised in an effusive message Saturday night on the X platform when it announced its formal recommendation for him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Less than 24 hours later, however, it condemned the US for attacking Iran, saying the strikes 'constituted a serious violation of international law' and the statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
