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.

Russia remains ready to act as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Iran, and Moscow's previous proposal to store Iranian uranium in Russia remains on the table, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Amid rapidly intensifying hostilities between Israel and Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin held telephonic conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday,

Israel was exploiting its advantage, saying it had taken out dozens of surface-to-air missiles in western Iran and killed the intelligence chief of the Islamic Revoluti

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's "act of force" against Iran and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities when they spoke by phone on Monday,

Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to help the United States mediate a peace deal between Israel and Iran as tensions rise in the Middle East.

This is the second time President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken on the phone this month.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, focusing on hostilities between Israel and Iran and calling for efforts to bring them to an end.