MOSCOW – The Russian government leveled serious accusations against Washington and Tel Aviv on Thursday, claiming both nations are deliberately attempting to involve Arab Gulf countries in an expanded Middle East war through provocative actions against Iran.
According to Moscow’s allegations, Gulf Arab nations – which maintain strong diplomatic ties with the United States and some with Russia as well – have faced Iranian drone and missile bombardments following weekend airstrikes conducted by American and Israeli forces against Iran on Saturday.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin reached out to four Arab Gulf nation leaders by telephone on Monday, proposing that Moscow could leverage its diplomatic relationship with Iran to communicate the region’s concerns about Tehran’s attacks on petroleum facilities throughout the area.
In an official statement released Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry directly blamed America and Israel for intentionally attempting to pull Arab Gulf nations into a larger regional war.
“They deliberately provoked Iran into retaliatory strikes against targets in some Arab countries, which led to human and material losses, which the Russian side deeply regrets,” the ministry said.
“In doing so, they (Washington and Tel Aviv) are trying to drag the Arabs into a war for someone else’s interests,” the statement continued.
