Russia urges restraint as US sends warships, jets to region

Russia warned against an “unprecedented escalation of tension” around Iran on Thursday and urged restraint amid a US military build-up in the region that a senior American official said should be complete by mid-March.

- 

US threats to bomb Iran, with the two sides far apart in talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, have pushed up oil prices and a Russian corvette on Thursday joined planned Iranian naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, a vital sea route for global energy.

Iran and the United States leaned into gunboat diplomacy on Thursday as nuclear talks between the nations hung in the balance, with Tehran holding drills with Russia and the Americans bringing another aircraft carrier closer to the Mideast.

"These are planned exercises and they are agreed upon in advance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Russia continues to develop relations with Iran and in doing so, we call on our Iranian friends and all parties in the region to exercise restraint and prudence" he added.

Moscow was calling for "political and diplomatic means to be given absolute priority in resolving various issues," Peskov said.

Some countries have urged their citizens to leave Iran, citing the threat of a military conflict.