Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has said that if a truce between Israel and Iran holds, then that will deal a blow to the so-called axis of evil.
“We see Iran as part of the axis of evil,” Nauseda told reporters as he was preparing to depart for the NATO summit in the Hague on Tuesday. “Alongside Russia and North Korea, Iran contributes toward rising tensions not just in the Middle East, but also in terms of supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine. If the ceasefire holds, I’d say that that will deal a blow to that axis, delay the timeline of Iran’s nuclear programme, and perhaps even prevent it from being implemented.”
As Israel has continued its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, tensions in the region escalated further in mid-June with a strike against an Iran. Israel explained that its attack on Teheran’s nuclear and military facilities was meant to thwart the country’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran has always insisted that is nuclear programme is exclusively for civilian purposes, and its response was to launch a missile attack against Israel.
Last weekend, the United States entered the fray with massive air strikes which Washington claimed to have devastated Teheran’s nuclear programme, although some officials have warned that the extent of damage is actually unclear.
On Monday, Iran declared that it had attacked a US military base in Qatar. Qatari officials said that the missiles were successfully repelled.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Shortly thereafter, however, both Iran and Israel accused each other of violating the truce that had been announced earlier.
“If the ceasefire proves to be fragile, we’ll be facing yet another hotspot,” President Nauseda told reporters.
“And, of course, any spread of that hotspot would definitely have negative consequences for the war in Ukraine, both in terms of diverting global attention and by sharply pushing up oil prices,” he said. “That will undoubtedly benefit Russia, which rubs its hands in glee every time it sees the price of black gold rising on global markets.”
Source: BNS
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