Kremlin Urges Iran-Israel De-escalation and Establish Communication with Both Countries

Dmitry Peskov. (Wikimedia Commons/men's

JAKARTA - Russia maintains communication with Iran and Israel, dialogues with both countries and urges the need for de-escalation in the Middle East, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"We are very concerned about the increasing tension in the region and we call on all countries in the region to exercise restraint. Further escalation is not in anyone's interests," Peskov told reporters, reported by The Times of Israel, April 17.

Peskov said Russia continues to maintain close contacts with Iran and also maintains constructive contacts with Israel.

"You know that Russia maintains close contacts, we have very constructive working contacts with Tehran. We also have contacts with Israel. These contacts are also constructive," he said, quoted by TASS.

When asked whether Tehran had warned Russia beforehand about an attack on Israel, Peskov said he could not say anything on the matter.

On that occasion, Peskov mentioned a recent telephone conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

"The (Russian) President (Vladimir Putin) also had a telephone conversation with the Iranian President (Ebrahim Raisi) yesterday," he said.

Additionally, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev held a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi, the Kremlin spokesman added.

It is known that seven officials from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in an air attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus, Syria, including two senior generals, on April 1. Israel, which is said to be behind the attack, did not confirm or deny it.

In response, Iran launched airstrikes involving more than 300 drones and missiles last Saturday, causing minor damage in Israel and injuring a 7-year-old girl. Most of Iran's attacks were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome defense system and with help from the US, UK, France and Jordan's air defense which emphasized that it would shoot down missiles and drones fired by anyone who crossed its airspace.