Donald Trump's comments about getting involved in Israel-Iran conflict are raising alarm bells in Moscow
Comments from deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov – warning the US against joining Israel's military campaign – betray Moscow's growing unease that it could be about to lose its closest Middle Eastern ally.
Russia has strong ties with Iran, which have deepened since the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
These were formalised in a strategic partnership pact the two countries signed at the start of the year.
Israel-Iran conflict - live updates
So, at first, Russia seemed to view its ally's conflict with Israel as an opportunity to gain leverage. The Kremlin was quick to offer its services as a potential mediator.
If Vladimir Putin could persuade Tehran to back down and return to nuclear talks with Washington, he'd potentially have a favour to cash in with the White House over its military support for Ukraine.
But the offers to mediate fell on deaf ears.
And with Mr Trump threatening to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, Moscow has switched to crisis mode – fearful of losing its second key regional ally in six months, after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
So, as well as Ryabkov, other senior figures have taken to the airwaves.
Russia's spy chief Sergei Naryshkin called the situation "critical".
34:31
And, according to ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the world is "millimetres away from catastrophe" due to Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
It's quite the spectacle – a country that's been waging war on its neighbour for more than three years is now urging others to show military restraint.
That's because US involvement poses serious consequences, not just for Iran, but for Russia too.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Channel 4
27 minutes ago
- Channel 4
‘There's a feeling of depression in Russian cities'
In Russia, the universally pro-Kremlin media have tried to downplay Volodymyr Zelenskyy's meeting with Donald Trump and European leaders – declaring that 'everyone looked gloomier than a thundercloud'. While an op-ed in the state news agency RIA Novosti warned that if future overtures didn't go well, there would be no more 'truly generous compromises', even threatening western Ukraine with the headline 'we'll have to go as far as Lviv'. We were joined by Andrei Soldatov who's one of Russia's leading investigative journalists who fled the country in 2020 and is now on Russia's most wanted list. His latest book is Our Dear Friends in Moscow – the Inside story of a broken generation.
Channel 4
27 minutes ago
- Channel 4
Trump rules out sending US troops to Ukraine in any peace deal
Nato military leaders will meet Wednesday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine – as European allies try to work out the practicalities with talk of deploying a 'reassurance force' once hostilities cease. Donald Trump said he was now trying to arrange direct talks between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin – warning the Russian leader he would face a 'rough situation' if he didn't agree. And he said Ukraine would have to 'show some flexibility' to.
The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
‘Nothing about Success': Trump rages that ‘woke' Smithsonian teaches ‘how bad Slavery was'
President Donald Trump has launched an attack on the nation's museums for being 'WOKE,' specifically targeting the Smithsonian, calling it 'OUT OF CONTROL.' In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon, the president wrote: 'The Museums throughout Washington, but all over the Country are, essentially, the last remaining segment of 'WOKE'.' He continues: 'The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.' Trump laid out his intentions, writing: 'We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made.' He concluded: 'This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.'
