US strikes on Iran could spur nuclear proliferation, warns Russian FM Lavrov

US and Israeli strikes on Iran could encourage the Islamic Republic and its Arab neighbours to acquire nuclear weapons, Russia’s Foreign Minister warned on Tuesday.

Rather than limit nuclear proliferation, nations may now feel they need the bomb - or risk being attacked by the United States, Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow.

He also rejected US claims that Tehran had been in pursuit of a nuclear arsenal.

"We hear about the goals of this war regularly, but we still see no evidence that Iran was developing nuclear weapons—precisely what served as the main, if not the only, justification for the war. There is confirmation from the IAEA, as well as from American professional intelligence officers, that Iran neither produced nor attempted to produce nuclear weapons."

Lavrov also appeared to defend Tehran’s claim that its nuclear programme is civilian purposes alone, including producing clear energy.

"The right to enrich uranium for the purposes of the peaceful use of nuclear energy is inalienable. To say that Iran alone in the entire world should give up this right, which other states possess, is probably not very realistic."

Iran is one of Russia’s closest allies in the Middle East. President Putin has condemned the killing of its ​Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and called for an immediate end to the hostilities.

In 2025, Russia and Iran signed a strategic partnership treaty aimed at strengthening ties, including in military matters.