MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. While Russia still holds out hope that relations between Israel and Iran will normalize after the two countries exchanged airstrikes, in truth it is not so optimistic about this, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters.
"Let’s hope so, but it’s questionable," Bogdanov, who is also Russia’s presidential envoy for the Middle East and African countries, said when asked to comment on a potential normalization between the two countries.
On the evening of April 13, Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel in response to what it called "repeated crimes" from Tel Aviv, including the attack on the consular office of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus ascribed to Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that together with the United States and Great Britain, Tel Aviv was able to neutralize 99% of the projectiles launched at Israel which caused slight damage to the Nevatim Air Base.
Six days later, Iranian media reported that three drones had been shot down over Iran’s Isfahan province. Tehran said that "no damage" was caused by the downed quadcopters. Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the raid.