Middle East on Brink of Chaos: Russia Warns of Catastrophic Escalation as Turkey Pleads for Restraint Amid Iran-Israel Tensions
Russia’s foreign ministry on Saturday warned of an “explosive escalation” following Israel’s strikes on Iranian territory, with Turkey condemning the attack and urging both sides to exercise “restraint”.
In a statement, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed Russia’s concern “about the ongoing explosive escalation between Israel and the Islamic Republic, which poses a real risk to the stability and security of the region.”
He called on “all parties involved to exercise restraint, stop violence and avoid a catastrophic situation”.
Israel bombed Iran’s military sites early Saturday, but did not target its oil and nuclear sites after urgent calls for restraint from allies and neighboring countries in response to Tehran’s attack earlier this month.
The Israeli military said that before dawn today, dozens of planes carried out three waves of strikes on Iran’s missile production facilities and other sites, warning Tehran not to retaliate.
Instead, Iran said its air defenses successfully responded to the attack, while Iranian media reported that the death toll in the attack rose to 4 soldiers.
Turkey called for an end to “Israeli terrorism” and Lebanon condemned
Meanwhile, Turkey called for an “end to terrorism perpetrated by Israel in the region” and “condemned” the Israeli attack on Iran, a Foreign Ministry statement said.
“Ending terrorism perpetrated by Israel in the region has become a historic mission to establish international security and peace,” the ministry said.
He added: “We condemn in the strongest terms the Israeli attack on Iran. With the massacres in Gaza, preparations for the annexation of the West Bank and the daily killing of civilians in Lebanon, Israel has pushed our region to the brink of a larger war.”
The Turkish ministry called on the international community to “enforce respect for the law and take immediate measures to stop (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s government,” calling on “countries in the region and actors outside the region to adopt a rational and cautious stance.”
Instead, Lebanon’s foreign ministry condemned the Israeli attack, calling for an end to Tel Aviv’s military escalation.
In a statement, Lebanon’s foreign ministry considered the Israeli attack “a violation of Iran’s sovereignty and a serious threat to regional and international security and peace.”
The statement indicated that “Lebanon once again calls on the relevant international bodies, especially the UN Security Council, to assume their responsibility to end the Israeli military escalation in the entire region, including the ongoing aggression against Lebanon.”
Germany warns Iran against escalation
In the same context, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday warned Tehran against any “escalation” following Israeli strikes on Iranian territory.
Schulz wrote in a post on the X website: “My message to Iran is clear: sharp escalations must not be stopped now to open the possibility of peaceful development in the Middle East.”
Schulz called on “all parties” to call for a “ceasefire in Gaza” and the “release of Israeli hostages” held in the Strip.
Stressing the need to implement Security Council Resolution 1701, he said the same applies to Lebanon.
UN Resolution 1701 ended Israel’s war against Lebanon in 2006 and stipulated strengthening the deployment of the UN “UNIFIL” force and limiting the military presence between the Lebanese army and UN forces in the border region.
The German chancellor continued: “We hope that Hezbollah will move behind the Litany River to reach a peaceful development.”