Moscow switches to crisis mode after Trump's Iran threats

Russia is getting nervous about Donald Trump's trigger finger, and it shows.

Comments from deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov – warning the US against joining Israel's military campaign – betray Moscow's growing unease that it could be about to lose its closest Middle Eastern ally. Russia has strong ties with Iran, which have deepened since the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.

These were formalised in a strategic partnership pact the two countries signed at the start of the year. Israel-Iran conflict - live updates So, at first, Russia seemed to view its ally's conflict with Israel as an opportunity to gain leverage.

The Kremlin was quick to offer its services as a potential mediator. If Vladimir Putin could persuade Tehran to back down and return to nuclear talks with Washington, he'd potentially have a favour to cash in with the White House over its military support for Ukraine.

But the offers to mediate fell on deaf ears. And with Mr Trump threatening to assassinate Iran's supreme leader, Moscow has switched to crisis mode – fearful of losing its second key regional ally in six months, after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.

So, as well as Ryabkov, other senior figures have taken to the airwaves. Russia's spy chief Sergei Naryshkin called the situation "critical".

Read more:Who has been targeted in Iran?How the conflict escalated And, according to ministry of foreign affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the world is "millimetres away from catastrophe" due to Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. It's quite the spectacle – a country that's been waging war on its neighbour for more than three years is now urging others to show military restraint.

That's because US involvement poses serious consequences, not just for Iran, but for Russia too. But none here would be drawn on what Moscow would do if Trump does bomb Tehran.

The notoriously outspoken Ms Zakharova was unusually tight-lipped on that particular question when I caught up with her at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. She wasn't even able to say whether it would constitute an escalation, when the whole world can see that it would.

That's because Russian officials are in an unfamiliar position - caught between a long-time ally and the country whose affections they're courting. Hence the reluctance to directly criticise Trump.

I think they're also waiting to see what Russia's president will say, when he addresses news agencies later on Wednesday evening. So far, in public at least, he's remained silent..