Russia warns US against helping Israel militarily amid Iran strikes

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East.

Ryabkov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that Russia cautions the U.S. against supplying such assistance to Israel – or even considering it.

He said Moscow was in contact with both Israel and Iran.

In separate comments, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Iran and Israel was now critical.

Ryabkov warned the U.S. against direct military assistance to Israel or even considering such “speculative options,” according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

Earlier, a source familiar with U.S. internal discussions said Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of options, including joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding,” he wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday. “We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now…Our patience is wearing thin.”

Earlier, the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran “will stand firm against an imposed war, just as it will stand firm against an imposed peace”.

In a televised address reported by the Tasnim news agency Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that “This nation will not surrender to anyone in the face of imposition.”

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Khamenei also pointed to statements made by Trump, saying those who know Iran and its history “know that Iranians do not answer well to the language of threat”.

“And the Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable consequences”, says Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It is worth mentioning here that Iran and Israel launched new missile strikes at each other on Wednesday as the air war between the two longtime enemies entered a sixth day amid a call from U.S. President Donald Trump for Tehran’s unconditional surrender.

The Israeli military said two barrages of Iranian missiles were launched toward Israel in the first two hours of Wednesday morning. Explosions were heard over Tel Aviv.

Israel told residents in a southwestern area of Tehran to evacuate so its air force could strike Iranian military installations. Iranian news websites said Israel was attacking a university linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the east of the capital.

Iranian news websites said Israel was also attacking a university linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the country’s east, and the Khojir ballistic missile facility near Tehran, which was also targeted by Israeli airstrikes last October.