Putin shared surprising advice with Iranian counterpart following unprecedented attack on Israel

Russian President Vladimir Putin joined international calls for cool heads in the Middle East as tensions remain high following Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel over the weekend.

"Vladimir Putin expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region," the Kremlin said in a readout of a call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, according to a translation by The Moscow Times.

"Ebrahim Raisi noted that Iran's actions were forced and limited in nature: At the same time, he stressed Tehran's disinterest in further escalation of tensions," the Kremlin added. "Both sides stated that the root cause of the current events in the Middle East is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

"In this regard, the principled approaches of Russia and Iran in favor of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, easing the difficult humanitarian situation, and creating conditions for a political and diplomatic settlement of the crisis were confirmed," the Kremlin concluded, adding that the call discussed "in detail" the airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus.

ISRAEL PUSHES FOR NEW SANCTIONS ON IRAN, URGES COUNTRIES TO DECLARE REVOLUTIONARY GUARD A TERROR GROUP

On Saturday night, Iran launched hundreds of drones and a mixture of cruise and ballistic missiles in retaliation for strikes against its diplomatic mission, or, as other reports claim, an adjoining Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compound in Damascus.

The strike killed seven IRGC members, including Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the senior commander of the forces since the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

Israel never took credit for the strike, but