Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has clarified that Moscow has no intention of supplying Iran with nuclear warheads, responding to criticisms from former U.S. President Donald Trump, who mocked the comment following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Medvedev initially suggested that Iran would receive nuclear assistance from other nations, but later specified that he was not referring to Russia. Trump criticized Medvedev’s remarks as casual and called for immediate clarification, highlighting tensions between the U.S. and Russia over Iran’s nuclear program.
Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, originally said Sunday that Iran would continue to advance its nuclear program and would receive assistance from other nations to do so. Although he did not specify any countries, he clarified later Monday that he was not talking about Russia. ‘I condemn the U.S. strike on Iran — it failed to achieve its objectives,’ Medvedev said in a Monday post on X. ‘However, Russia has no intention of supplying nuclear weapons to Iran because, unlike Israel, we are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.’
Medvedev’s statement came after Trump called him out by name in a post on Truth Social following the Russian leader’s original Sunday remarks. ‘Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that, or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS,’” Trump said in a Monday Truth Social Post.
Andrea Sticker, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ nonproliferation and biodefense program, chalked up Medvedev’s initial statement as an attempt to brag and said it was unrealistic for any country to provide such assistance to Iran. ‘Medvedev’s original claim was likely bluster about Russia or another country supplying Iran with nuclear weapons,’ Stricker said in a Monday email to Fox News Digital. ‘No country, including Pakistan or North Korea, would supply atomic devices to Tehran because they would be held accountable by the United States if Iran used the weapons. Moscow and Pyongyang, at least from available open-source information, appear to be standing mostly idle as their ally Iran takes a major beating.’
The U.S. launched strikes late Saturday targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities, which involved more than 125 U.S. aircraft, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters Sunday. Trump announced early Tuesday that a ceasefire had gone into effect between Israel and Iran but scolded both countries hours later following accusations from both sides that the other had violated the agreement. ‘I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran either but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning,’ Trump said at the White House Tuesday morning. ‘We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing,’ he said.