Russia strongly denounced the joint United States–Israel strikes on Iran on Saturday, calling them “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry urged an immediate halt to military operations and stressed a return to diplomacy.
In a statement on Telegram, Moscow accused Washington and Tel Aviv of using concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme as a cover for pursuing regime change.
It warned the attacks could trigger a “humanitarian, economic, and possibly radiological catastrophe” in the region and risk plunging the Middle East into “an abyss of uncontrolled escalation.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, who briefed him on Tehran’s efforts to repel the strikes and said Iran would seek an urgent UN Security Council session. Lavrov reiterated Russia’s condemnation and pledged Moscow’s readiness to help broker peace.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation with Russia’s Security Council via videoconference.
The Russian statement described the bombing of nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards as “unacceptable” and placed full responsibility for the escalation on the US and Israel.
“Responsibility for the negative consequences of this manmade crisis, including an unpredictable chain reaction and spiralling violence, lies entirely with them,” it said.
Russia also criticised what it described as repeated destabilising attacks by the US, accusing Washington of undermining the “international legal pillars of the world order.”
Historically, Moscow has balanced its Middle East relations carefully, maintaining warm ties with Israel while deepening economic and military cooperation with Iran. Last week, Iranian forces and Russian sailors held joint drills in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean to enhance operational coordination, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
In January last year, Putin and Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed a broad cooperation pact amid Western sanctions.
Western officials allege Russia and Iran signed a $1.7 billion deal for Shahed drones in 2022, and that Iran supplied short-range missiles to Moscow, although neither side has confirmed these claims.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the strikes, calling Iran “an accomplice of Putin” for supplying drones and weapons technology during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Analysts in Moscow suggest the Israel-Iran confrontation could divert global attention from Ukraine and weaken Western support for Kyiv.
