Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has warned that direct US military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East,i reports.

In separate comments, the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Iran and Israel was now critical.

Ryabkov warned the US against direct military assistance to Israel or even considering such “speculative options,” according to Russia’s Interfax news agency.

“This would be a step that would radically destabilise the entire situation,” it cited him as saying.