Tehran/Moscow/Beijing- Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Sunday that he will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, following the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which have triggered a wave of international condemnation and escalated tensions in the region.
“We enjoy a strategic partnership and we always consult with each other and coordinate our positions,” Araghchi said, referring to Tehran’s alliance with Moscow.
Russia, China Condemn US Strikes
Both Russia and China slammed the U.S. attacks, calling them “irresponsible” and a “dangerous escalation” that violates international law.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a strong rebuke, calling the U.S. move a “gross violation of international law” and warning it could further destabilize the already volatile Middle East.
“It is already clear that a dangerous escalation has begun, fraught with further undermining of regional and global security,” the ministry said in a statement.
China also issued a formal condemnation, calling the attacks a violation of the United Nations Charter and warning they could worsen tensions across the region.
“The U.S. has attacked nuclear facilities supervised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This seriously violates international norms,” read a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry.
Beijing urged all parties—especially Israel—to immediately cease hostilities and return to dialogue and negotiations.
Iran: ‘They Crossed a Big Red Line’
Araghchi, speaking in Tehran before departing for Russia, declared that the U.S. airstrikes on Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites marked a “major red line” being crossed.
“They crossed a very big red line by attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities,” he said.
Iran vowed “reprisals by all necessary means”, with Araghchi accusing Washington of sabotaging diplomacy and “choosing war” instead.
“Through this action, the United States has dealt a serious blow to international peace and security,” he said.
“We were in diplomacy, but we were attacked. They have proved that they are not men of diplomacy—they only understand the language of threat and force.”
Trump Confirms U.S. Role in Coordinated Strikes
Former U.S. President Donald Trump, in a national address, confirmed that American warplanes carried out precision strikes using stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, targeting Iran’s key underground facilities. He claimed the strikes were necessary to stop Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability.
“Iran’s nuclear program is now completely and fully obliterated,” Trump declared.
He added that Iran “must now agree to end this war,” despite Tehran’s insistence that it never left the diplomatic path until it was bombed.
Diplomacy in Ruins
Araghchi pushed back against Western calls to return to negotiations, saying:
“How can Iran return to something it never left? It was the United States that betrayed diplomacy.”
He added:
“The world must not forget that it was the U.S. which—midway through diplomacy—supported the genocidal Israeli regime’s illegal war of aggression against Iran.”
As global powers weigh their response and Iran signals deeper alignment with Russia, the path forward appears fraught with uncertainty and risk of wider regional war.