VIENNA, April 15. /TASS/. The current escalation of the situation in the Middle East has become possible due to the West's refusal to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear program, Russia's permanent envoy to international organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said.

"The current extremely dangerous events in the Middle East are one of the results (not the only one) of the decision of the US and the Eurotroika to block negotiations on the restoration of the JCPOA. There was a chance to avoid this. The West paved the way to the current events," the diplomat wrote on his Telegram channel.

Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel on the evening of April 13, calling it a response to numerous crimes, including an airstrike on the consular section of the country’s embassy in Damascus. The Israel Defense Forces said it had intercepted 99% of the Iranian projectiles that flew toward the country, with minor damage to the Nevatim air base.

In 2015, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany signed the JCPOA with Iran to resolve the crisis over Tehran's nuclear program. In 2018, then US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the deal. The current US President Joe Biden has repeatedly signaled his willingness to bring Washington back into the nuclear deal.