Russia is concerned over confrontation between US and Iran — Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the US director Oliver Stone in an interview published on the official Kremlin website on Friday that he is concerned over the confrontation between the United States and Iran.
“This worries us because this is happening near our borders. This may destabilize the situation around Iran, affect some countries with which we have very close relations, causing additional refugee flows on a large scale plus substantially damage the world economy as well as the global energy sector,” Putin said.
“We would welcome any improvement when it comes to relations between the US and Iran. A simple escalation of tension will not be advantageous for anyone. It seems to me that this is also the case with the US,” he added.
The United States withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal on 8 May 2018 and imposed economic sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports. Russia’s position regarding the situation has been that everyone involved should resolve their differences through diplomatic negotiations.
Earlier in the day, Iranian media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had seized the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz because it violated international regulations.
Last few months saw several oil tankers being hit by explosions of undetermined origin. The United States and its allies blamed Iran for the incidents, but Tehran denies involvement.
Later, the Iranian military in June, downed a US drone, saying it violated Iran airspace. The Pentagon insisted that the drone was in international territory and called the incident an “unprovoked” attack.
