Russia Warns Donald Trump That He Has Opened ‘Pandora’s Box’ With Strikes On Iran
President Donald Trump has been warned he’s opening ‘Pandora’s Box’ over his strikes on Iran.
Russia chose mythic imagery to condemn the United States after Trump ordered ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a surprise bombardment of Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear sites.
Addressing an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Moscow’s ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Washington of putting ‘the safety and well-being of humanity as a whole’ at risk, per Reuters.
“Through their actions, the U.S. has opened a Pandora’s box; no one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring,” he warned, calling the strikes ‘irresponsible, dangerous and provocative.’
he criticism came less than forty-eight hours after Trump revealed that B-2 bombers and submarine-launched Tomahawks had hammered the three underground facilities.
In a televised address, he hailed ‘massive precision strikes’ that ‘completely and totally obliterated’ Iran’s enrichment program and declared the operation a ‘spectacular military success.’
Pentagon briefings later confirmed the use of 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker-buster bombs – technology never before employed in combat.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told the same Security Council session the bombing marked ‘a perilous turn,’ urging all parties to ‘return to serious, sustained negotiations on the Iran nuclear programme.’
But acting U.S. envoy Dorothy Shea insisted the attack was necessary to stop Tehran from acquiring a weapon, while Iran’s ambassador said Washington had ‘destroyed diplomacy.’
Iran’s military has since declared all U.S. forces in the region legitimate targets, and lawmakers in Tehran are threatening to shut the Strait of Hormuz.
Inside Russia’s fiery speech lurked a diplomatic overture: Nebenzia reminded delegates that Moscow had repeatedly offered to mediate and claimed the White House is ‘clearly not interested in diplomacy.’
He added that, unless escalation stops, the Middle East could soon face: “a large-scale conflict with unpredictable consequences … the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster, Economic Times reports.
Back in Washington, the strikes have opened a different kind of box for the populist right.
On his ‘War Room’ podcast, hours before the bombs dropped, former Trump strategist Steve Bannon cryptically told listeners: “I’m just reporting what I’m hearing from pretty good sources. The party is on… another big weekend in this unfolding aspect of the Third World War.”
After the attack, Bannon blasted Trump for publicly thanking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arguing it cut against the ‘America First’ brand and risked an open-ended commitment abroad, per Mail Online.
Trump himself struck a darker note while fielding questions on an airport tarmac in New Jersey about possible Iranian retaliation.
“You’re even in danger talking to me right now,” he told reporters, Daily Beast states. “Do you know that? … I should probably get out of here. But you guys are actually in danger.”
The remark drew fresh criticism that the president is leaning on fear rather than strategy as stakes rise.
Cultural voices are piling on.
Comedian Jon Stewart, reflecting on the week’s events, wondered aloud whether Trump might ultimately ‘burn our f*ing country down for the insurance money,’ accusing corporate media of paying ‘tribute to the king’ instead of holding him accountable.
Whether Nebenzia’s foreboding metaphor becomes reality now hinges on three fronts: Iran’s promised response, the U.S. domestic debate, and the willingness of world powers to revive diplomacy.
For the moment, however, Trump’s decision has fused regional hostilities, great-power rivalry, and America’s own political tumult into a single, unpredictable crisis, one that even its architect concedes could ‘go somewhere very big’ if Tehran refuses to stand down.
Heartbreaking Update As At Least Eight People Dead After Hot Air Balloon Crashes
At least eight people have died following a hot air balloon crash in the city of Praia Grande, in southern Brazil.
The quick-thinking pilot made a move that saved the lives of 13 people.
The aircraft, carrying 21 people in total, horrifically caught fire while traveling through the air metres high, as onlookers caught footage of the incident.
The fire ripped through the balloon before swiftly crashing to the ground, taking the lives of several people onboard.
Ulisses Gabriel, chief of police for the Santa Catarina state, revealed that several people were needed to hold the balloon to the ground prior to take off, and that winds were very clearly ‘quite strong.’
Speaking to Brazilian broadcaster, Globo News, he said: “There was a truck pulling the balloon with a cable, which was moving very intensely from side to side.”
The police chief believes that despite the balloon being flame-retardant, a possible gas leak occurred during the intense movements, which ultimately caused the balloon to burn.
Local media reported that a ticket for the hot air balloon ride was 550 Brazilian real (around $100), and that passengers were supposed to be in the sky for 45 minutes.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took to X (formerly Twitter) with a statement.
He says: “I wish to express my solidarity with the families of the victims of the accident involving a hot air balloon that occurred this Saturday morning in Santa Catarina.
“And to place the Federal Government at the disposal of the victims and the state and municipal forces working on the rescue and care of the survivors.”
Eyewitnesses revealed seeing people staggering from the balloon, as one woman was covered in mud and in a ‘state of shock,’ while a man with her ‘was limping.’
However, one instruction that the pilot gave during the blaze, potentially saved the lives of the 13 survivors on board.
As the balloon sank to the ground, he told people to jump out of the aircraft when it was very close.
Speaking from Praia Grande police station, officer Tiago Luiz Lemos, said: “According to the pilot, who is one of the survivors, a fire started inside the basket, so he started to lower the balloon, and when the balloon was very close to the ground he told people to jump.
“They started to jump, but some people did not manage to. The flames started to grow and because of the weight, the balloon began to rise again.
“It later fell because of a loss of suspension.”
He noted that people on board started to get desperate, and that those who stayed in the balloon ultimately died of burns.
The cause of the incident is still being investigated, but speculation is running rife.
The main hypotheses that are being looked at include adverse weather conditions and human error.
The location is famous for its hot air balloon excursions, and is even known as Brazilian Cappadocia.