Zakharova called Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities a threat to the whole world

Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities pose a threat to the entire world. This was announced on June 18 in the Izvestia studio at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025) by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"The strikes that are being carried out on Iran's nuclear facilities have, in fact, put all other issues on the back burner. Why? Because here we need to talk about the threat to the region and the world as a whole, and not just about the fact that rights or international law are being violated in one particular segment," she said.

Zakharova called this an existential issue and recalled the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, the consequences of which Japan has been unable to completely eliminate for many years. She also stressed that this disaster occurred not because of targeted attacks from outside, but for man-made reasons.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry clarified that the Israeli side, in turn, deliberately strikes in order to destroy or damage it in such a way that it would have fatal consequences.

In addition, Zakharova recalled the targeted attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and stressed that the West had not raised questions about the consequences if missiles hit reservoirs or warehouses with the presence of radiation material. She attributed the lack of reaction to the presence of a certain elite that considers attacks on nuclear facilities to be the norm.

She clarified that the experts and observers of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who are on the territory of the Zaporizhia NPP, constantly do not know where the missiles are coming from.

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On the same day, more than 50 fighter jets of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) attacked a number of military targets in the Tehran area, including a facility for the production of centrifuges for uranium enrichment. According to the Israeli army, the Islamic Republic is enriching uranium to develop nuclear weapons, as such a high level is not required for civilian nuclear power.

Later, Vice President of Iran, head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami called the situation at nuclear facilities good after the Israeli attack.