Russia said on Thursday that it was seeing an unprecedented escalation of tension around Iran as the US moved military assets into the Middle East. The Kremlin urged both Tehran and "other parties" to exercise prudence and restraint.
The US has deployed warships near Iran, while also holding talks with Tehran on limiting its nuclear programme. Russia has a strategic partnership treaty with Iran, although it does not include a mutual defence clause.
A Russian naval corvette conducted manoeuvres with the Iranian Navy in the Gulf of Oman this week, according to Russia's Defence Ministry. "These are planned exercises; they are coordinated in advance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Russia continues to develop relations with Iran, and in doing so, we call on our Iranian friends and all parties in the region to exercise restraint and caution," he said. "We urge them to prioritise political and diplomatic means in resolving any problems."
"Right now, we are indeed seeing an unprecedented escalation of tensions in the region. But we still expect that political and diplomatic means and negotiations will continue to prevail in the search for a settlement."
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Lucy Papachristou and Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
