Russia warns US against attacking Iran

The chief of Russia’s General Staff, Nikolai Makarov, has warned the US against striking Iran over the country’s nuclear program.

“The consequences, I believe, would be dreadful for Iran, as well as Russia, the entire Asia-Pacific community,” Makarov said on Wednesday.

The Russian military chief further suggested that the United States might turn its military attention on the Islamic Republic once its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have been completed.

Amid a US campaign to drum up support for new anti-Iran sanctions, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned on Tuesday that world powers would “regret” any moves against the country.

“If anybody seeks to create problems for Iran, our response will not be like before,” Ahmadinejad said at a press conference in Tehran.

“Something will be done in response that will make them (the world powers) regret [their action],” the Iranian chief executive added. “However, we prefer they steer towards cooperation [with Iran].”

President Ahmadinejad made the remarks as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was wrapping up her visit to the Middle East, where she stopped in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to seek the backing of the Arab world’s heavyweights against Tehran’s nuclear drive.

Tehran says its nuclear program is directed at the civilian applications of the technology and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction around the globe.

The West, however, accuses the country of seeking military ends in its pursuit. The United States has spearheaded efforts to slap new UN Security Council sanctions against Iran, after the country announced the production of the first batch of 20 percent-enriched uranium to make fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran.