Russia Calls for 'Utmost Restraint' in Iran Standoff

Russia on Wednesday said a military attack on Iran would be a "grave mistake" that will reverberate across the world, calling for utmost restraint in the West's escalating tensions with Tehran.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov also slammed oil sanctions against his country's traditional ally, saying they had only hampered nuclear negotiations in the past.

"A military operation against Iran would be a most grave mistake, a very crude miscalculation," Ryabkov told the state ITAR-Tass news agency.

"The consequences of such a hypothetical development of events would be most far-reaching for regional and global security," he said.

"There cannot, by definition, be a military solution of the task to revive trust in the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program," Ryabkov was quoted as saying.

"We believe it is categorically unacceptable and call on our partners in the six-party talks, all those who have in recent days begun actively discussing this topic to come to their senses and demonstrate utmost restraint."

Nuclear negotiations between Iran and six world powers -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany -- collapsed a year ago.

Russia, which has relatively close ties with Iran and built its first nuclear power station in the southern city of Bushehr, spoke out amid escalating tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear program.

The European Union has announced plans to join the United States in ramping up sanctions on Iran to cripple its oil-dependent economy, and threats and counter-threats are being increasingly backed with displays of military muscle.

Russia earlier this week voiced concern at the announcement Iran had begun uranium enrichment at a new nuclear plant but Ryabkov condemned oil sanctions and called for the resumption of talks.

"We are against applying such measures with respect to Iran," Ryabkov told ITAR-Tass.

"We believe that such sanctions have nothing to do with the main task, that is the strengthening of the non-proliferation regime," he said, adding existing sanctions against Iran have not helped the nuclear talks.

"We believe that preconditions to continue the talks are ripe, and this chance cannot be missed now," he said, cautioning Russia's partners against unilateral decisions.

"Those countries that are discussing such measures are undermining the unity of the six international intermediaries," he was quoted as saying.

"We believe that both Iranians and all the international members on the whole must in this alarming situation avoid any statements and especially actions that could lead to a further unwinding of the spiral of confrontation.

"This is a very dangerous tendency, everyone should show maximum restrain now."