MOSCOW: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has warned that regime change in Iran is “unacceptable” and the assassination of the country’s Supreme Leader would “open Pandora’s box”.
The spokesman, during an interview with Sky News, warned that Russia would react “very negatively” if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
The remarks came as US President Donald Trump announced he would decide within two weeks whether the United States would join Israel’s war against Tehran, following earlier speculation on social media about targeting Iran’s leadership.
“The situation is extremely tense and is dangerous not only for the region but globally,” Peskov said.
“An enlargement of the composition of the participants of the conflict is potentially even more dangerous,” he said.
“It will lead only to another circle of confrontation and escalation of tension in the region,” Peskov said.
“[Regime change in Iran] is unimaginable. It should be unacceptable, even talking about that should be unacceptable for everyone,” the Kremlin spokesman said.
On a question what how Russia would react if Iran’s Supreme Leader was killed, he said it would trigger action “from inside Iran”. “It will open Pandora’s box,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS news agency that media reports of the US potentially using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran are nothing but speculations, while such a move would lead to catastrophic consequences.
“There have been a lot of speculations,” Peskov noted. “This would be a catastrophic development, but there are so many speculations that in fact, it’s impossible to comment on them,” he added.
In March, US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said that US intelligence agencies saw no signs of Tehran working to develop nuclear weapons. She added that according to her data, Iran’s Supreme Leader had not authorised the resumption of the nuclear weapons programme suspended in 2003.
