Russia says it's extremely concerned by rise in Middle East tensions, urges restraint

Russia said on Monday it was very worried by the rise in tensions in the Middle East following Iran's mass drone and missile attack on Israel at the weekend.

"We are extremely concerned about the escalation of tensions in the region," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "We call on all countries in the region to exercise restraint."

"Further escalation is in no one's interests. Therefore, of course, we advocate that all disagreements be resolved exclusively by political and diplomatic methods," Peskov said.

Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Iran's regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.

Russia has refrained from criticising its ally Iran in public over the strikes.

Moscow on Sunday noted that Tehran had said the attack was made within the right to self-defence after Israel's strike on the Iranian embassy compound, which Moscow condemned.

President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian by telephone on Sunday.