Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Iran and Israel has raged for six days.

Iran’s two squadrons of Russian-built MiG-29 fighters, tasked with defending the capital, have been conspicuously absent from the skies during Israel’s “Operation Rising Lion” air campaign. -Despite being among the most capable jets in Iran’s aging air force,

Analysts say the Kremlin is prioritizing its own war against Ukraine, as well as its relations with Gulf nations that don’t want to see a stronger Iran.