Russian Foreign Minister Warns against Strike on Iran

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has strongly warned against a military attack on Iran, saying that a pre-emptive strike would violate international law. Lavrov said Monday on a visit to Armenia that an attack on Iran would destabilize the region. The Russian Foreign Minister, quoted by Ria Novosti news agency, said more IAEA inspectors should be send to Iran, He said it was “of principal importance to maintain and boost the presence of IAEA inspectors and monitors in Iran.” “They currently work at all nuclear objects of Iran and have uncovered no illicit activities so far,” Lavrov added. He said that the sanctions against Iran should be lifted only after Tehran eases international concerns about its nuclear program. “The six nations’ approach, voiced several years ago, stipulates that as soon as Iran persuades the world community via the IAEA verification that its nuclear program is absolutely peaceful by nature, it will be vested with all the rights of an IAEA nuclear member state,” Lavrov said. “All variants concerning Iran are being studied, but we will accept only those allowed by international law and the UN Charter,” Lavrov said.