Russia denounces US air strikes, Hezbollah attacks in Iraq

Russia's foreign ministry on Monday called the "exchange of strikes" between Hezbollah and US forces in Iraq "unacceptable" and called for restraint from both sides. "We consider such actions unacceptable and counterproductive. We call upon all parties to refrain from further actions that could sharply destabilize the military-political situation in Iraq, Syria, and the neighboring countries," a ministry statement said.

While the Russian statement referred to Hezbollah, the US strikes on Sunday actually targeted the Hezbollah brigades, a radical faction of Hashed al-Shaabi, a Tehran-backed Iraqi paramilitary coalition. Those strikes were in retaliation for a series of rocket attacks since late October against US interests in Iraq, including on Friday, when a US civilian contractor was killed.