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.

Russia has broken its silence on Israel’s massive overnight airstrikes on Iran, calling it a “dramatic escalation” in the Middle East. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed President Vladimir Putin is receiving real-time updates as Israel’s Operation “Rising Lion” pounds Iranian nuclear and military sites.

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,