Russia on Wednesday said the world was getting tired of endless threats against Iran and that bombing the Islamic Republic would not bring peace, cautioning that Tehran was already taking preventative measures.
Iran is reportedly approaching weekend talks with the United States over its nuclear programme warily, with little confidence in progress and deep suspicions about US intentions.
It will be recalled that the talks were announced on Monday by the US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January and has repeatedly threatened Washington's decades-long foe, Iran, with military action if it does not agree to a deal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was aware of the quite harsh rhetoric and that Tehran was taking preventative measures, and suggested the focus should be contacts rather than confrontation.
“Indeed, the world is growing tired of the endless threats against Iran. There is a growing understanding that bombing cannot pave the way to peace,”; Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
DAILY POST reports that Iran's nuclear programme, which began in the 1950s with support from then-ally the United States, has long been the subject of dispute between world powers and Iran, whose 1979 Islamic Revolution turned it into one of the biggest foes of Washington.
According to the US, Israel and some European powers, Iran is covertly trying to develop a nuclear weapon, an assertion denied by Tehran which has in recent years built a partnership with Russia, the world's biggest nuclear power.
While Moscow has bought weapons from Iran for the war in Ukraine and signed a 20-year strategic partnership deal with Tehran earlier this year, their relationship has been deeply troubled at times since the 16th century when Muscovy officially established relations with the Persian Empire.
Iranian officials said that Moscow often talks tough but is wary of getting dragged into a major war in the Middle East.
