Russia reacts to Israeli airstrikes on Iran, terms it as 'explosive escalation'

Moscow, Oct 26 (IANS) Russia on Saturday called for the earliest possible normalization of the military and political situation in the Middle East, urging all parties involved to prevent the situation from developing into a catastrophic scenario.

"We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing explosive escalation between Israel and Iran, which creates real threats to stability and security in the region. We are ready to work with all parties to reduce the level of confrontation... We must stop provoking Iran to respond and get out of the spiral of uncontrolled escalation," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova in a media briefing.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced earlier in the day that they had successfully completed "precise and targeted strikes" against multiple military targets in Iran that posed an immediate threat to Israel.

These strikes, conducted in three waves in collaboration with the Israeli Air Force (IAF), took place early Saturday in response to a ballistic missile attack on October 1, revealed IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Daniel Hagar.

Zakharova spotlighted that the IAF carried out airstrikes on a number of military facilities in the Iranian provinces of Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan, in coordination with the United States.

"According to the Iranian side, a significant portion of the aerial bombs could have been intercepted by the country's air defence systems, which were on high alert. Apart from information about two Iranian servicemen, there were no reports of other casualties or injuries, primarily among the civilian population, including Russians living in Iran," she mentioned.

"It is obvious that its root causes lie in the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the well-known decisions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly, which provokes ever-increasing tension," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson added.

Moscow also emphasised that it remains deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in Lebanon.

"There have been numerous reports of civilian casualties as a result of massive indiscriminate attacks on densely populated residential areas of Beirut and other Lebanese cities by the Israeli armed forces. Among the killed and wounded civilians are a large number of journalists and media workers," said Zakharova.

She mentioned, that according to information available, on the night of October 25, the Israeli Air Force carried out airstrikes on a residential area of ​​the city of Hasbaya in southern Lebanon, killing two employees of the Al-Mayadeen TV channel and a cameraman from the Al-Manar TV channel. Other media representatives were also wounded during the attack.

"It is absolutely clear that the Al-Mayadeen TV channel and its employees are the target of targeted attacks. This is another clear example of the desire of the Israeli military to eradicate any sources of alternative points of view on the events taking place in the region at any cost, without disdaining any means or methods," remarked Zakharova.

The Russian MFA detailed that, since the beginning of the military operation in the Gaza Strip, about 140 media workers have died in the line of duty.

--IANS

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