The Russian leader has called for “reasonable restraint” in the Middle East
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on the phone in his office in Saint Petersburg on December 15, 2018. © Alexey NIKOLSKY / AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, following Tehran’s drone and missile attack on Israel, the Kremlin has said.
Iran launched scores of drones and missiles against Israel on Saturday, as “punishment” for the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria that killed seven high-ranking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force officers at the beginning of the month.
Raisi phoned Putin on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the “aggravated situation” in the region and the “retaliatory measures” taken by Tehran, according to the readout of the call.
Putin “expressed hope that all parties will show reasonable restraint and will not allow a new round of confrontation, fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region,” the Kremlin said.
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Raisi “noted that Iran’s actions were forced and limited in nature,” adding that Tehran was “not interested in further escalation of tensions.”
Both presidents agreed that the root cause of the current conflict is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict, calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, deliveries of humanitarian aid, and the creation of conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement.
Israel has vowed to deliver a “clear and decisive” response to the Iranian strike, which the government in West Jerusalem said had been largely intercepted. However, the Israeli military is reportedly working on a plan that would be acceptable to the US.
Meanwhile, the Iranian military has described the strike as a great success. “Operation True Promise” proved that Israeli defenses were “flimsier than a spiderweb,” Brigadier General Kioumars Heydari, commander of Iran’s ground forces, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“The Iranian armed forces broke the taboo about the Israeli regime’s capabilities, demonstrated their might, made it clear that the era of hit-and-run is over, and defined new rules for the region,” Heydari said, according to the Tasnim news agency.
