Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran.

By Andrew Osborn and Alexander Marrow (Reuters) -Russian leader Vladimir Putin told Iran's president over the phone on Friday that Moscow condemned Israeli actions against Tehran, and in a separate telephone conversation told Israel's prime minister that only diplomacy could resolve issues around Iran's nuclear programme.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Israeli strikes on Iran and its nuclear facilities were unprovoked and in breach of the United Nations charter. "Unprovoked military strikes against a sovereign UN member state,