Russia voices concern over Israeli strikes on Iran

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman voiced on Saturday "deep concern" over Israeli's strike on Iran, saying the escalation between the two states threatens the stability and security of the entire region.

"We are deeply concerned about the ongoing explosive escalation between Israel and the Islamic Republic, as it poses real threats to stability and security in the region," she said in a statement, published on the ministry's website.

According to Zakharova's assessment, the root cause of the confrontation between Iran and Israel lies in the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"We consider it extremely necessary to normalize the military-political situation in the Middle East as soon as possible, which would meet the interests of all sane players both inside and outside the region," she stressed.

Zakharova strongly urged all parties to exercise restraint, stop violence and "prevent the development of events in a catastrophic scenario," separately emphasizing the need "to stop provoking Iran to retaliate and get out of the spiral of uncontrolled escalation."

She offered Russia's mediation, saying Moscow is ready to work with all sides to achieve de-escalation.

On the night of Oct. 25-26, the Israeli Air Force in coordination with the US carried out strikes on Iran's military facilities in Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan provinces that killed at least two servicemen.

According to the Iranian side, a significant part of the bombs was intercepted by the country's air defense systems that were on high alert.