Kremlin Says Middle East Is Plunging into ‘Abyss of Instability and War’ 

A destroyed building is pictured at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 19, 2025. (AFP)
A destroyed building is pictured at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Kremlin Says Middle East Is Plunging into ‘Abyss of Instability and War’ 

A destroyed building is pictured at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 19, 2025. (AFP)
A destroyed building is pictured at the site of an Iranian missile attack in Ramat Gan in central Israel near Tel Aviv, on June 19, 2025. (AFP)

The Kremlin warned on Friday that the Middle East was plunging into "an abyss of instability and war" and said Moscow was worried by events and still stood ready to mediate. 

Russia, which has warm ties with Iran and also maintains close links to Israel, has urged the US not to strike Iran and has called for a diplomatic solution to the crisis around Tehran's nuclear program to be found. 

Asked on Friday if Russia had any red lines when it came to the situation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that countries in the region were the ones who should have their own red lines. 

"The region is plunging into an abyss of instability and war," Peskov said. 

"This war is fraught with (the risk of) geographic expansion and unpredictable consequences. This region is at our borders. It's potentially dangerous for us and we are concerned." 

Although Russia does not border any country in the Middle East its southern North Caucasus region borders a belt of former Soviet republics which in turn border Iran and Türkiye. 

Peskov said that Moscow observed for now that Israel wanted to continue its military action against Iran, but said Russia has lines of communication open with Israel, the US and Iran. 

Peskov said it was hard to predict whether an offer by President Vladimir Putin to mediate in the crisis would be taken up or not, but said that Moscow favored an end to hostilities and a move to diplomacy as soon as possible. 

Russian nuclear energy chief Alexei Likhachev said the situation at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, where hundreds of Russian specialists work, was "normal" and under control. 

The Israeli military said at one point on Thursday that it had struck the Russian-built Bushehr facility, but later said the comment had been made by mistake. Likhachev, head of the state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, said on Thursday that any attack on the plant could cause a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster. 

On Friday he told reporters in St Petersburg: "We...very much hope that all our signals from yesterday reached the Israeli leadership." 

Likhachev said Russia has just over 300 staff at Bushehr and a total presence of about 500 people, including family members. 



Female Iranian Student Arrives in Iran After Release in France

Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
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Female Iranian Student Arrives in Iran After Release in France

Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)
Iranian national Mahdieh Esfandiari arrives for her trial on charges of promoting terrorism on social media at a Paris courthouse on January 13, 2026. (AFP)

Iranian student Mahdieh Esfandiari arrived in Iran after being released in France, Iranian state TV reported on Wednesday, after ‌two French ‌nationals facing security ‌charges ⁠were allowed to ⁠leave Iran following three-and-a-half years in detention.

Esfandiari, who was convicted at the end ⁠of February for glorifying ‌terrorism ‌in anti-Israel social ‌media posts, was released ‌after serving almost a year in prison.

"I think it's ‌clear for everyone that there is ⁠no ⁠freedom of speech, at least not in France where I was. The court's ruling was very unjust," Esfandiari told state television.


Israeli Rights Group Files ICC Case Against Spanish PM

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)
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Israeli Rights Group Files ICC Case Against Spanish PM

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Madrid. (AFP)

An Israeli rights group said Tuesday that it had asked the International Criminal Court to consider legal action against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for allegedly “aiding war crimes” through exports to Iran.

Filed by the Shurat HaDin non-governmental organization, which has taken legal action worldwide against what it calls “Israel’s enemies,” the lawsuit accuses Spain of providing “components required by the regime in Tehran and its proxies for military purposes.”

In a filing submitted under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, it alleges that Spain approved the export of about 1.3 million euros’ worth of so-called dual-use products that could be used in detonators and other explosive-related applications.

“These materials are not innocent industrial products, but critical components that enable explosive devices to function, and they were transferred in circumstances where their use for attacks against civilians was foreseeable and reasonable,” Shurat HaDin said in a statement.

The complaint comes in the midst of an escalating diplomatic spat between the two nations, which began with the start of the Gaza war in October 2023 and worsened after Madrid recognized a Palestinian state a year later.

Spain’s Socialist leader has also opposed the US-Israeli war with Iran, drawing a sharp Israeli reaction.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu barred Madrid from joining the work of a US-led center to stabilize post-war Gaza, accusing Spain of waging a diplomatic campaign against Israel.


Xi Calls China-Russia Ties ‘Precious’ in Current International Context

This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
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Xi Calls China-Russia Ties ‘Precious’ in Current International Context

This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on April 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Handout / Russian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly “precious” in the face of an international landscape intertwined with change and chaos.

During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Beijing, Xi said the strong vitality and exemplary significance of the friendship treaty between the two countries stand out even more under such a backdrop.

He said foreign ministries from both countries would need to fully implement the consensus reached between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling for strengthening strategic communication and close diplomatic coordination.

He also urged them to promote the comprehensive strategic partnership between Beijing and Moscow to “stand higher, walk more steadily and go further.”

Xi touted the value of the two nations’ ties, but he did not specify what he referred to as chaos and changes in the international context, as uncertainty still lingers about how long the Iran war would last.

In clips from an interview with the Fox Business Network, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday the war was “close to over.” Trump has repeatedly declared a US victory in Iran after the war started — even as the reality on the ground has been far more complicated.

Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Trump’s unorthodox approach to the war in Ukraine has added a twist to the relationship but doesn’t appear to have fundamentally changed it.

When Putin visited China in September, Xi welcomed his counterpart as an “old friend.” Putin also addressed Xi as “dear friend.”

Lavrov arrived in China on Tuesday for a two-day trip at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.