Russia has accused the United States and Israel of trying to drag Arab countries into a wider Middle East conflict by provoking Iran into striking targets across the region and said there was no sign Washington and Tel Aviv would let up, Reuters reports.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement, accused the US and Israel of deliberately trying to draw Arab Gulf states into a wider conflagration.

“They deliberately provoked Iran into retaliatory strikes against targets in some Arab countries, which led to human and material losses, which the Russian side deeply regrets,” the ministry said.

“In doing so, they (Washington and Tel Aviv) are trying to drag the Arabs into a war for someone else’s interests”.