Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, issued a dire warning during an emergency UN Security Council session, following the United States’ powerful airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. According to Nebenzia, the U.S. action, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, has “opened Pandora’s box” and pushed the world closer to a nuclear disaster.
Nebenzia harshly criticized the Trump administration’s decision to deploy B-2 stealth bombers and cruise missiles in a high-stakes assault on Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. He called the airstrikes “reckless” and “provocative,” stating they disregarded the potential radioactive fallout and put millions of civilian lives—especially women and children—at grave risk.
“The region now teeters on the edge of a widespread war, threatening not only Middle Eastern stability but the entire architecture of global security,” Nebenzia warned. He accused Washington of ignoring repeated diplomatic overtures and acting unilaterally in a manner that risks irreversible consequences. “The responsibility for this escalation lies solely with American leadership,” he declared, urging a return to international negotiations.
Echoing this concern, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that the strikes caused severe structural and operational damage. The precision weaponry used, including ground-penetrating munitions, reportedly crippled Iran’s Fuel Enrichment Plant at Natanz, while attacks at Isfahan targeted facilities connected to uranium conversion and material storage. At Fordow, advanced centrifuge systems may have suffered critical disruptions due to intense shockwaves from the bombings.
Grossi emphasized that the destructive capacity of the U.S. payloads would likely result in substantial long-term setbacks for Iran’s nuclear program—along with serious regional safety implications.
While the U.S. maintains that the operation was necessary to halt Tehran’s uranium enrichment progress, Russia and other critics argue that such actions abandon diplomacy in favor of militarized aggression—raising fears of a full-scale regional war or worse, a global nuclear crisis.
