Sergei Lavrov, at the headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moscow, on February 18, 2026. PHOTO: Kommersant Photo Agency / ddp USA / Profimedia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published on Wednesday that any new US attack on Iran would have serious consequences and called for restraint so that a solution could be found that would allow Iran to continue to pursue its “peaceful nuclear program”, reports Reuters.
Lavrov's interview, given to the Saudi Al-Arabiya television channel, was broadcast a day after US and Iranian negotiators held indirect talks in Geneva to prevent a new crisis between Washington and Tehran.
“The consequences are not good. There have already been attacks on Iran, on nuclear sites under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency. From what we can judge, there were real risks of a nuclear incident,” Lavrov said in the interview published on his ministry's website.
“I am carefully following the reactions in the region from the Arab countries and the Gulf monarchies. No one wants an increase in tensions. Everyone understands that this means playing with fire,” the Russian foreign minister added.
The escalation of tensions, the head of Russian diplomacy said, could undo the positive steps of recent years, including improving relations between Iran and neighboring countries, especially Saudi Arabia.
A senior US official told Reuters on Wednesday that Iran was to submit a written proposal on resolving the conflict with the United States after the Geneva talks.
US national security advisers met at the White House on Wednesday and were told that all US military forces deployed in the region should remain in place until mid-March, the official said.
The United States wants Iran to give up its nuclear program, but Tehran has flatly refused and denied that it is trying to develop an atomic weapon.
Lavrov also stated that Arab countries are sending signals to Washington “clearly calling for restraint and the search for an agreement that does not violate Iran's legal rights and (…) that guarantees that Iran has a purely peaceful nuclear enrichment program.”
Russia, Lavrov added, remained in close and regular contact with Iranian leaders “and we have no reason to doubt that Iran sincerely wants to resolve this issue on the basis of compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”
