Iran hasn't asked Moscow for military assistance during its conflict with Israel, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday. He said that the strategic partnership agreement between Moscow and Tehran doesn't cover such military help.

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

While Moscow has talked up its partnership with Iran, the deal does not require Russia to come to Iran's military aid The distraction of global attention away from Russia's war on Ukraine. "Kyiv has been forgotten" was a headline in Moskovsky Komsomolets And if the Kremlin's offer to mediate in the conflict was accepted,