Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, has sharply condemned what he described as “armed aggression” by the United States and Israel against Iran, dismissing President Donald Trump’s claim that the strikes were intended to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
Addressing the UN, Nebenzya called the attacks “another unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state, in violation of the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law.”
He argued the strikes were “openly aimed at interfering in Iran’s internal affairs and targeting a state inconvenient to the West.”
Nebenzya specifically rejected President Trump’s justification, saying: “The statement that this operation is aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons is unfounded. Tehran has consistently declared that it has no such plans and is fully complying with its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”
He added that the most reliable source on Iran’s nuclear program—the reports of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency—has never indicated that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons.
