President Donald Trump took aim at former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev over his warning that a country could provide a nuclear weapon to Iran in response to the American and Israeli bombing of the Islamic Republic.
In a thread on X, Medvedev listed what he believed would be 10 consequences of the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend. “1. Critical infrastructure of the nuclear fuel cycle appears to have been unaffected or sustained only minor damage,” he wrote on Sunday. “2. The enrichment of nuclear material – and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons – will continue. 3. A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.”
2. The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue.
3. A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) June 22, 2025
Trump responded to Medvedev, who is the current deputy chair of the Russian National Security Council, in a post on Truth Social. “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?” The president continued, “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.”
Medvedev replied to Trump in a written statement, saying Moscow was not considering sending a nuclear weapon to Tehran: “Russia has no intention of supplying nuclear weapons to Iran because, unlike Israel, we are parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” He went on to suggest an unspecified third country could send a nuclear weapon to Iran.
— Dmitry Medvedev (@MedvedevRussiaE) June 23, 2025
While Tehran’s civilian nuclear energy program has been subject to intense scrutiny and inspections – both under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the ill-fated 2015 nuclear deal – Tel Aviv possesses an undeclared strategic arsenal of some 200 nuclear weapons and allows no inspections. Even though the US intelligence community and international nuclear watchdog agency have verified that Iran is not trying to weaponize its nuclear program, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have used the issue to justify their offensive war against the Islamic Republic.