Russia flags 'alarming' signals of fresh military action against Iran

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova raised the alarm Monday over what she described as signs that fresh military action against Iran is being planned. Speaking at a press briefing, she called those signals 'extremely alarming.' She said the situation around Iran remains complicated and the conflict there is still far from settled.

Zakharova cast Iran as the target of 'unprovoked aggression by the US and Israel' — Moscow's framing of the hostilities — and said the standoff keeps bleeding into other crises across the Middle East. According to the diplomat, the conflict is unresolved and intertwined with the region's other flashpoints.

She pushed back hard on the idea that force can do the job. Military operations against Tehran, she argued, are worthless and cannot 'break the will' of the Iranian people. Her answer instead: crank up diplomatic efforts and find a peaceful route out of the Iranian crisis.