Russian officials caution that U.S. direct military support for Israel risks triggering wider instability across the Middle East.

Russia is telling the United States not to strike Iran because it would radically destabilise the Middle East, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday, and Moscow said Israeli strikes risked triggering a nuclear catastrophe.

As Israel attacks new sites linked to Iran's nuclear program, Tehran warns against the U.S. wading directly into an increasingly deadly war, and Trump considers doing just that.

When Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, officials in Russia described the current escalation in the Middle East as "alarming" and "dangerous." Still, Russian media were quick to stress the potential positives for Moscow.

Iran is a strategic partner to Russia, but Moscow isn't rushing to Tehran's aid in the face of Israeli strikes.