Russia's Lavrov warns against any new US strike on Iran

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an interview made public on Wednesday, ​said that any new U.S. strike on Iran would have serious consequences and called for restraint to find ​a solution to enable Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear ​programme. Lavrov's interview with Saudi ⁠Arabia's Al-Arabiya television was aired a day after U.S. and Iranian negotiators held indirect talks ​in Geneva to head ‌off a new mounting crisis between Washington and Tehran. "The consequences are not good. There have already been strikes on Iran ​on nuclear sites under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency. From what we can judge there were real risks of a nuclear incident," ‌Lavrov said ‌in the interview, which ​was posted on his ministry's website. "I am carefully watching reactions in the region from Arab countries, Gulf monarchies. No one wants an increase in tension. Everyone understands this is playing with ​fire." Boosting tensions, he said, could undo the p

ositive steps of recent years, including improved relations between Iran and nearby countries, notably Saudi Arabia. A senior U.S. official ​told Reuters on Wednesday that Iran was expected to submit a written proposal on how to resolve its standoff with the United States after the talks in Geneva. U.S. national security advisers met in the White House on Wednesday and ‌were told all U.S. military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said. The United States wants Iran to ⁠give up its ​nuclear programme, and Iran has adamantly refused and denied it is trying to develop an atomic weapon. Lavrov said Arab countries were sending signals to Washington "clearly calling for restraint and ⁠a search for ⁠an agreement that will not ⁠infringe on Iran's lawful rights and ... guarantee that Iran has a purely peaceful nuclear enrichment programme". Russia, he said, remained in close, regular contact with Iran's leaders "and we have no reaso

n ⁠to doubt that Iran sincerely wants to resolve this problem on the basis ​of observing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty".