Russia says the escalating conflict involving Iran is driving a surge in demand for its energy exports as global oil and gas markets struggle with disruptions linked to the fighting.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the war has significantly increased international demand for Russian energy products, positioning Moscow as a key supplier at a time when traditional shipping routes in the Middle East face severe disruption.
“We are seeing a significant increase in demand for Russian energy resources in connection with the war in Iran,” Peskov told reporters.
He added that Russia remains a dependable energy supplier through both pipeline networks and liquefied natural gas exports.
The comments came a day after the United States Department of the Treasury issued a 30-day waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil shipments currently stranded at sea.
The conflict has also severely affected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy transit routes.
The narrow waterway normally carries roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. Ongoing military activity in the region has left the route nearly closed, raising fears of a major supply shock in global energy markets.
As the war intensified, the United Nations called on all sides to step back from further escalation.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned that the conflict risked spiralling further out of control unless immediate de-escalation efforts were taken.
“The world urgently needs to see steps to contain and extinguish this blaze,” Türk said. “But instead we are only seeing more inflammatory, bellicose rhetoric, more bombings, more destruction, killings and escalation that fuels it further.”
“I urge the states involved to take immediate steps to de-escalate, to give peace a chance. And on other states to call clearly on those involved to pull back. Cool heads must prevail if we are to prevent further terror and devastation for civilians,” he added.
The fighting intensified overnight as large explosions rocked several locations in Tehran, including residential districts and areas near University of Tehran.
Air strikes were also reported in Lebanon, where Israeli jets targeted southern and eastern towns, including Douris in the Bekaa Valley, and carried out attacks near the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump claimed Iran’s military capability had been severely degraded during the offensive.
“Iran is being demolished ahead of schedule and at levels people have never seen before,” Trump said, adding that the country now has “no air force, no air defence” and that its air force is “gone.”
Reports indicate the conflict has caused heavy casualties. At least 1,332 people have been killed in US and Israeli strikes on Iran since Saturday, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
The agency also reported that missiles struck two schools in the town of Parand, southwest of Tehran.
Iran has continued launching missile and drone attacks targeting Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.
Israel’s Tel Aviv also came under a combined drone and missile assault late Thursday night as the conflict entered its seventh day.
