Pakistan, June 22 — MOSCOW – A senior Russian official on Sunday sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, accusing him of launching a new war by ordering strikes on Iran, a move Moscow believes will only strengthen Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s grip on power.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said Trump had failed in his image as a peacemaker and warned that the U.S. may get dragged into a larger military conflict. “Trump, who came in as a peacemaker president, has started a new war,” Medvedev said, adding that “with this kind of success, Trump won’t win the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Medvedev emphasized that the Iranian regime appeared even stronger after the strikes, as public support around Khamenei had grown – even from those previously critical of him. He noted that Iran’s nuclear infrastructure remained intact and warned that the U.S. risked being pulled into a ground war.
Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a serious violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It called on the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action, warning of “dangerous escalation” in a region already burdened by multiple crises.
President Vladimir Putin had earlier offered to mediate between the U.S. and Iran but declined to discuss speculation that Israel or the U.S. might target Khamenei directly. Moscow also said it had received assurances from Israel that Russian engineers working on Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant would not be harmed.
Inside Russia, voices are growing louder for the Kremlin to support Iran more directly. Prominent businessman Konstantin Malofeyev said Moscow should provide Iran with the same level of support Washington gives Ukraine. Jailed nationalist Igor Girkin warned that without serious aid from Russia and China, Iran could be bombed into “the Stone Age.”