Russia: US attack on Iran would be catastrophic

On Sept. 18, Russia joined the chorus of concern at the possibility of war in Iran while conflicts continued in Iraq and Afghanistan. At a news briefing in Moscow, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said: "We are worried by reports that there is serious consideration being given to military action in Iran. That is a threat to a region where there are already grave problems in Iraq and Afghanistan." His comments, after a meeting with his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, followed a stark warning from the UN's chief nuclear weapons inspector aimed at the US. "I would not talk about any use of force," Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters at the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. "There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons." "Bomb attacks on Iran would be a wrong move leading to catastrophic consequences,'' Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said in an interview with newspaper Vremya Novostei, published on the ministry's website. Losyukov's remarks come two days after Kouchner said the world should "prepare for the worst'' in the crisis over Iran's nuclear program, and that "the worst is war.'' A US attack on Iran would destabilize the Middle East and lead to "an extremely negative reaction'' in the Islamic world, Losyukov said, adding that "use of force would be a serious diplomatic and political mistake.'' "We are convinced that there is no military solution to the Iranian problem ... besides, it is quite clear that there is no military solution to the Iraqi problem either," he said. Dan Plesch, director of the Center for International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said a preemptive strike would damage US relations across the region. "If they do it, they'll destroy everything,'' he said in an interview in London. "You can destroy Tehran and you will lose Turkey and Egypt, in terms of political action.''