The Kremlin on Monday called for a de-escalation in the Middle East after Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack on Israel.
“We are extremely concerned about the escalation of tensions in the region and we call on all countries in the region to exercise restraint. Further escalation is in no one’s interests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Meanwhile, Israel struck war-battered Gaza overnight, Hamas and witnesses said Monday, as world leaders urged de-escalation awaiting Israel’s reaction to Iran’s unprecedented attack that heightened fears of wider conflict.
World powers have urged restraint after Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel late Saturday, though the Israeli military has said nearly all were intercepted.
Tehran on Monday called on Western nations to “appreciate Iran’s restraint” towards Israel after it attacked its regional foe in response to a deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
“Instead of making accusations against Iran, (Western) countries should blame themselves and answer to public opinion for the measures they have taken against the… war crimes committed by Israel,” said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani in reference to the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The spokesman added that Western countries “should appreciate Iran’s restraint in recent months”.
Western governments have condemned Iran over its unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, which Tehran insists was an act of “self-defense”.
Iran’s first direct attack on Israel, which began on Saturday, was in response to a April 1 strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus which has been widely attributed to Israel.
The Damascus strike killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
Kanani said Iran’s action was meant to “create a deterrent”.
The latest developments took place against the backdrop of the Gaza war, which began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel which killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive against the Palestinian militant group has killed at least 33,729 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.