MOSCOW, Sept 6: The United States used Israel’s attack on the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon as a prelude to ‘settling accounts’ with Iran, Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian diplomat as saying on Wednesday.

Vladimir Trofimov, deputy head of the foreign ministry’s Middle East department, was quoted making the comments the day before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov begins a visit to the Middle East that will include Israel.

“If we look at Israeli and U.S. plans, they aim at removing the Hezbollah factor ahead of the forthcoming U.S. settling of accounts with Iran,” Interfax quoted Trofimov as saying.

“This was a U.S.-Israeli conflict with the Islamic world, in which Iran has become a de-facto leader,” he added. Trofimov, who has a record of making off-the-cuff remarks, was speaking at an informal round table discussion in Moscow.

Russia has acknowledged Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks, but was critical of its offensive in Lebanon.

Mr Lavrov is to visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria on Thursday and Friday.

In a newspaper interview published on Wednesday, he implicitly criticised Israel’s calls to destroy Hezbollah and said it should instead be engaged in political dialogue.

“Hezbollah is a part of the Shia community in Lebanon,” Mr Lavrov told government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta.

The United States has been pressing Russia to give up its resistance to sanctions against Iran, which is suspected of trying to create nuclear weapons. Iran denies such plans and says its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Russia has backed a U.N. resolution threatening economic sanctions against Iran if it fails to halt its nuclear programme. Iran has said it will never abandon its right to nuclear technology.

But Mr Lavrov said on Wednesday that the resolution ruled out the use of force against Iran. Mr Putin and Mr Bush have good personal relations but the Kremlin’s more independent-minded foreign policy — especially in the Middle East — has cooled relations between Moscow and Washington.

—Reuters