Russia gives 'nuclear disaster' statement after warning US it opened 'Pandora's box' by attacking Iran

Russia has warned that the US bombing of Iran risks plunging the world into a 'nuclear disaster', after Donald Trump targeted three of the Middle Eastern nation's major nuclear sites.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was invited to the Kremlin today (23 June) and Reuters reports that he went with a request for more help from Russia.

They add that the Iranians want Russia to provide them with more assistance against Israel and the US, but that Russia does not want to openly side with Iran while the US has a president that is friendlier towards his regime.

Russia and Iran are allies, with the Iranians having supplied Vladimir Putin with drones and other weapons for his invasion of Ukraine, and the Russian dictator called US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites 'unjustified'.

He said: "The absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification. Extra-regional powers are also being drawn into the conflict. All this brings the world to a very dangerous line."

Russia welcomed the Iranian foreign minister to the Kremlin (Kremlin Press Service / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

What happened in Iran?

Hostilities between Israel and Iran have flared up again in recent days after Israel launched a significant strike against several targets in Iran, striking nuclear facilities and killing several senior figures in their military.

The Iranians responded with missile strikes of their own and there have been deadly exchanges between Israel and Iran since then.

While the US said it was not part of the initial Israeli attack on Iran, Donald Trump said he was giving himself 'two weeks' to decide whether or not he would directly bomb Iranian nuclear sites.

The next day (21 June), he made the decision to strike three targets in Iran - Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

In an attack named Operation Midnight Hammer, six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers flew from a base in Missouri and dropped a dozen 'bunker busting' bombs onto Fordow.

Meanwhile, American submarines fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at the other two targets, with Trump boasting that it had been a 'spectacular military success'.

Iranian officials have said the strikes give them a 'free hand' if they wish to 'act against US interests and its army', and the BBC reports there is a 'credible threat' to a US run airbase in Al-Udeid in Qatar.

The US attacked Iran with a plan called Operation Midnight Hammer (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

What has the Russian ambassador said?

Speaking at an emergency United Nations meeting convened after the strikes, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said: "Through their actions, the U.S. has opened a Pandora’s box.

"No one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring.

"Unless we stop the escalation the Middle East will find itself on the verge of a large-scale conflict with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security system, plus the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster."

While Russia has offered to mediate the conflict, Donald Trump told the Iranian ally to sort out their own war with Ukraine first (Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images)

What has Russia offered to do?

Russia has suggested it could be a mediator between the US, Israel and Iran in the current conflict, with Vladimir Putin calling it a 'delicate issue'.

However, this offer came before the US attack and Trump quashed the suggestion, saying: "I said, ‘Do me a favour, mediate your own’.

"I said, ‘Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later’."

While Putin's country has condemned the US attack on Iran and said they were 'making efforts to assist the Iranian people', the Washington Post notes that there has not been concrete assistance yet.