TEHRAN, October 3. /TASS/. The Middle East conflict has prompted much more countries to consider obtaining nuclear weapons, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) in an interview.

"The attempt to change the foundations of the political regime in Iran by force and essentially withdraw it from the active players has actually led to much more countries weighing possessing nuclear weapons," the politician said as he criticized the US policy course here as reckless.

The so-called nuclear program of the Islamic Republic was the formal reason for launching the military aggression in the Persian Gulf, Medvedev argued.

"If before the talk about nuclear weapons was totally conventional or even abstract, I am adamant that after what happened a large number of countries, including in the Middle East, will seek nuclear weapons. For nukes only can in effect thwart a global conflict as recent events showed in no uncertain terms," he maintained.