Russia: War or Counterproductive Effect May Prompt Arab Countries to Seek Nuclear Weapons

On Tuesday (March 3rd), Russia warned that a war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran might lead to the very outcome they were trying to prevent, namely, encouraging Iran and its Arab neighbors to seek nuclear weapons.

Reuters reported that US President Trump cited Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons as one of the reasons for the US and Israel to launch an attack. This led to the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggered a war that swept across the Middle East.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the logical consequence of this is that "there will be certain forces in Iran... that will support doing what the United States most wants to avoid, that is, obtaining nuclear weapons. Because the United States will not attack a country that possesses nuclear weapons."

Lavrov said at a press conference that Arab countries might also join this nuclear arms race. He added that the risk of "out-of-control nuclear proliferation" is increasing now.

"Launching a war to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, this seemingly contradictory yet noble goal, might trigger a completely opposite trend."

He said that Moscow has yet to find any evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Israel is regarded as the only country in the region that possesses nuclear weapons, but Israel neither confirms nor denies this.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that after Putin spoke with the leaders of the Gulf Arab states on Monday (the 2nd), he would convey their concerns to Iran regarding the military strikes Iran has launched against it since the outbreak of the war.

The spokesperson of the Kremlin, Peskov, said to reporters: "Putin will definitely do everything possible, at least to contribute to a slight easing of the tense situation."