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Russia on Wednesday strongly criticized strikes on areas near Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said that a “new and extremely dangerous strike” was carried out on Tuesday in the immediate vicinity of the operating power unit No. 1 at the Bushehr NPP.
“We are extremely outraged by this reckless, irresponsible manifestation of a destructive course. One gets the impression that the aggressors are deliberately seeking to cause a large-scale nuclear catastrophe in the region in order to conceal and justify their criminal acts,” the ministry said.
Read Also: US Sends 15-Point Ceasefire Plan, Iran Military Dismiss Talks
It emphasized that the US-Israeli actions have “already resulted in numerous casualties among the peaceful Iranian population.”
“Washington and West Jerusalem must understand no less than we do – a hit on the Bushehr NPP would inevitably lead to irreversible humanitarian and environmental consequences,” it stressed.
The ministry said “only by a miracle has a tragedy not yet occurred,” warning that strikes are being carried out “increasingly closer” to the operating power unit.
“The lives of the station’s personnel, including Russian specialists, are under constant threat. This is categorically unacceptable to us,” it said.
The ministry demanded that “those who recklessly, irresponsibly, and without justification attacked Iran return to reason, cease their unprovoked aggression, including strikes on Iran’s nuclear energy infrastructure.”
The ministry pointed out that the Bushehr NPP falls under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, as well as facilities located in its immediate vicinity.
“We expect a clear, unequivocal position and decisive action from the IAEA, the UN, and their leadership to prevent further such attacks,” it said.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Washington has provided no assurances that the Bushehr nuclear power plant would not be targeted.
The United States submitted a 15-point ceasefire proposal to Iran through Pakistani intermediaries on Wednesday, even as Iran’s military publicly mocked the diplomatic gesture, launching fresh attacks on Israel and the Gulf region and declaring that Washington was “negotiating with itself” — a collision of diplomatic signaling and continued combat that briefly calmed oil markets before the military’s rejection restored most of the session’s gains.
The ceasefire plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from Pakistan, who have offered to host renewed negotiations, according to a person briefed on the contours of the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity. Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of the ceasefire plan. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly confirmed his country’s mediating role on X, writing: “Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East. Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honored to be the host to facilitate.”
Iran’s military responded with ridicule. “Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you negotiating with yourself?” the top spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, said on Iranian state television, addressing Trump. “People like us can never get along with people like you. As we have always said, no one like us will make a deal with you. Not now. Not ever.” Iran’s Foreign Ministry separately told reporters it was “responding to requests through intermediaries of friendly countries” while denying formal negotiations were under way — a formulation that NPR and other outlets described as a distinction without a clear operational difference.
Iranian missions in New York said Iran would allow the passage of what it described as “non-hostile vessels” through the Strait of Hormuz — the first public signal of any modification to the effective blockade since it was imposed on February 28. The announcement was vague enough to be interpreted either as a meaningful concession to calm markets or as a tactical maneuver to extract diplomatic leverage, and analysts immediately debated which interpretation was more credible. Iran’s own crude exports, carried on Chinese-flagged tankers, have continued at approximately 1.5 million barrels per day throughout the conflict.
Read Also: Iran Threatens To ‘Completely’ Close Strait Of Hormuz
Brent crude oil fell toward $100 a barrel in morning trading on ceasefire hopes, having traded as high as $120 per barrel at various points since the war began. That remains up nearly 40 percent from pre-war levels. US stock index futures rose. By midday in Asia, however, the market gains had faded as Iran’s military statements and continued strikes undercut confidence that the ceasefire plan had any immediate prospect of success.
Iran launched a new wave of attacks against targets in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, and struck US bases in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain. In Kuwait, a drone hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire without casualties. Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said it had destroyed at least eight drones over its oil-rich Eastern Province. Israel simultaneously announced wide-scale strikes on Iran targeting government infrastructure, with witnesses reporting explosions in the northwestern city of Qazvin and in northern and central Tehran. Israel said its air force struck two naval cruise missile production sites in the capital. Iran’s SNN News Agency reported rescuers searching rubble in a residential area of Tehran following the strikes.
Any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve. It is not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority to negotiate — or would be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue killing the country’s leaders. Iran remains deeply suspicious of the United States, which attacked twice during periods of high-level diplomatic activity — once in the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani, and again on February 28, 2026, three days after Oman’s foreign minister had announced that a “breakthrough” had been reached and talks were expected to resume on March 2.
