Russia calls for restraint from Iran, Israel after missile strikes

Moscow hopes that Iran and Israel will exercise restraint after alleged mutual missile attacks, the Kremlin said Thursday.

"Moscow is concerned about the growing tensions and hopes that all parties will show restraint and resort exclusively to political and diplomatic means to solve all existing problems," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a daily briefing, Xinhua reported.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Israel fired some 60 missiles Thursday using 28 F-15 and F-16 aircraft and launched about 10 surface-to-air missiles to bomb armed Iranian detachments in Syria and Syrian air defence positions.

The attacks were carried out under the pretext of responding to alleged rocket strikes by Iranian forces based in Syria on Israeli positions in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Russian military said.

The tensions between Israel and Iran escalated after Israel released documents revealing Iran's nuke program earlier this month, and U.S. President Donald Trump's highly controversial withdrawal from the historic Iran nuclear treaty.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia advocates the resolution of the conflict through dialogue.

He said that Russia contacted both Iran and Israel, emphasizing the need to "avoid any mutually provoking moves."

The White House in a statement blamed the "provocative" attacks by Iran, saying the United States "strongly support Israel's right to act in self-defence".

--IANS

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