Iranian foreign minister informs Russian counterpart about strike on Israel in phone talk

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday called his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to inform him about overnight's retaliatory strikes on Israel.

"The focus was on the situation in the Middle East. The Iranian foreign minister informed his Russian counterpart about the measures taken by Tehran in response to the Israeli airstrike on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus on April 1, which resulted in the death of Iranian officials," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers said further escalation and new "dangerous provocative actions" may lead to an increase in tension in the Middle East.

They agreed that the UN Security Council has to work at preventing such scenarios and eliminating their root causes.

"The positions of the parties in favor of an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, the solution of the most acute humanitarian problems and the creation of solid conditions for direct negotiations in accordance with UN resolutions on a two-state settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict were confirmed," the ministry said.

Iran late Saturday launched rocket and missile strikes on Israel, in retaliation for an April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic facility in the Syrian capital that killed several military commanders.