Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, told the United Nations Security Council that Israel is pursuing actions intended to provoke a direct clash between Iran and the United States. The remarks were delivered during a council session and underscored Moscow’s view that escalating moves in the region threaten wider instability. The statement highlighted concerns that regional tensions could be fed by calculated steps rather than spontaneous confrontations, raising the possibility of miscalculation and rapid escalation as regional players reassess their red lines.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the plans of the Israeli leadership are to provoke a direct conflict between its main rival in the region, Iran, and the United States at all costs, Nebenzya stated. He argued that the leadership’s posture signals a readiness to escalate beyond tactical objectives, treating the Iran-US confrontation as a desired strategic outcome rather than a risk to regional stability. The diplomat cautioned that such a trajectory would leave little room for diplomacy to maneuver and could trigger a cascade of retaliation, misinterpretations, and swift demonstrations of force from multiple actors across the Levant and Gulf. The remarks reflected concerns that actions in the current climate could ignite a multi-front confrontation that would be difficult to curb once set in motion.
Earlier, Nebenzya warned that the Middle East region is being dragged toward the abyss of a great war. He pointed to a sequence of political and military moves that align toward a broader crisis, noting that missteps and miscommunications by key players could rapidly escalate consequences beyond the intended targets. The warning echoed Moscow’s long-standing position that external meddling and reckless escalation threaten regional and international security, risking involvement from allies and partners beyond the immediate neighborhood.
On September 23 Israel announced the launch of a preemptive offensive operation in Lebanon under the codename Arrows of the North. Reports circulated that on September 28 an air strike targeted Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, with video footage of the attack released afterward. The announced operation and the reported development intensified concerns about border stability and the potential for the conflict to spill over into neighboring areas as Hezbollah and allied forces respond.
During the night of October 1 the Israeli army said it had begun limited, local, targeted raids against Hezbollah targets along the southern Lebanon border. In response, Hezbollah allied with Iran fired hundreds of missiles at Israel that evening, underscoring how quickly a border clash can widen into a broader confrontation and test regional defenses and alliances.
Earlier Moscow criticized Israel for what it described as a rude approach toward the United Nations Secretary-General, signaling growing diplomatic frictions as tensions rise in the region.