Vladimir Putin’s hardline ally Dmitry Medvedev has warned the war with Iran risks triggering a nuclear conflict in the Middle East.
The former Russian president, now a senior security official, said Donald Trump had made a ‘gross’ strategic error in taking on Iran and warned the region’s ‘biggest war’ may still lie ahead.
He claimed Gulf states could now seek their own ‘nuclear shield’, sharply raising the risk of a wider conflict.
Medvedev said: ‘The likelihood of a nuclear conflict there, unfortunately, has increased as a result of this unprovoked, extremely dangerous war that the United States has started.’
He accused Washington and Israel of behaving like a ‘bull in a china shop’ and pushing the region towards catastrophe.
Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, warned the consequences of a US ground operation would be disastrous.
He said: ‘Probably the biggest war in the Middle East could still be ahead.’
Medvedev added: ‘And then the Middle East will turn into a long-term….hotbed of instability, which could continue there for centuries.’
An explosion erupts following strikes near Azadi Tower close to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran
Foreign workers look at a tall plume of black smoke ascends following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3
Vladimir Putin’s hardline ally Dmitry Medvedev (pictured) has warned the war with Iran risks triggering a nuclear conflict in the Middle East
Those holding money or engaged in oil supply in the Middle East ‘need to think very hard about what to do next’, he said.
He spoke as Russia is accused of supplying Iran with battle-tested drones and intelligence on targeting in support of Tehran, a charge Moscow denies.
‘From a prosperous region, as a result of this behaviour of the United States together with Israel, which behaved like a bull in a china shop, something irreparable could happen,’ he claimed.
‘I think this is the price of a gross mistake, a strategic mistake of the White House.’
He warned ‘the consequences will be fatal – for all participants because getting involved in such a ground operation at a great distance from the very same United States of America, threatens with approximately the same consequences as what happened in Vietnam, when Washington got involved in a foreign country, located a thousand miles away, and for 10 years could not find a decent way out of this conflict.’
The US now faces ‘a very difficult situation here.
‘Especially since Iran has repeatedly said that in this case, its hands will be untied.’
It comes as Donald Trump announced that he will hold off on bombing Iran’s energy infrastructure until at least early April after extending the deadline for the Islamic Republic to negotiate a deal, as he insists talks are ‘going very well.’
The President said he did so at the behest of Iranian leadership.
‘As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time,’ he posted on social media Thursday afternoon.
‘Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well.’
Trump first announced a pause on US strikes targeting Iran’s energy sector on Monday before markets opened.
Despite the claims of positive talks, Iran earlier formally rejected Donald Trump’s 15-point peace plan branded ‘one-sided and unfair’ by officials in Tehran.
Iranian leaders passed an official response to intermediaries mediating between Iran and US following a proposal put forward by Washington. Dismissing the plan, one source said Trump was feigning diplomacy to control oil prices and ‘buy time’ for a ground invasion.
Meanwhile an Iranian military source has said Iran has amassed more than a million soldiers to battle any US incursion after a ‘massive influx’ of young Iranians signing up to fight, according to the Tasnim news agency.
