Russia warns US against attacking Iran

press tv
Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:52:35 GMT

The chief of Russia’s General Staff, Nikolai Makarov, has warned the
US against striking Iran over the country’s nuclear program.

"The consequences, I believe, would be dreadful for Iran, as well as
Russia, the entire Asia-Pacific community," Makarov said on Wednesday.

The Russian military chief further suggested that the United States
might turn its military attention on the Islamic Republic once its
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have been completed.

Amid a US campaign to drum up support for new anti-Iran sanctions,
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned on Tuesday that world powers
would "regret" any moves against the country.

"If anybody seeks to create problems for Iran, our response will not
be like before," Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran.

"Something will be done in response that will make them (the world
powers) regret [their action]," the Iranian chief executive added.
"However, we prefer they steer towards cooperation [with Iran]."

President Ahmadinejad made the remarks as US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton was wrapping up her visit to the Middle East, where
she stopped in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to seek the backing of the Arab
world’s heavyweights against Tehran’s nuclear drive.

Tehran says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian
applications of the technology and has called for the removal of all
weapons of mass destruction around the globe.

The West, however, accuses the country of seeking military ends in its
pursuit. The United States has spearheaded efforts to slap new UN
Security Council sanctions against Iran, after the country announced
the production of the first batch of 20 percent-enriched uranium to
make fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran.