MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is ready to help settle the conflict in the Middle East in case of a corresponding request and a mandate, CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov told TASS.
"Certainly, the CSTO is ready to provide the means at its disposal to settle this conflict (the Middle East conflict - TASS) if there is a corresponding request and a mandate," he said.
According to Tasmagambetov, "the opportunities for successful settlement of such conflicts are shrinking sharply due to the fundamentally different views of the leading world players on the structure of the future world order." "This is a very big problem that needs to be solved in order to avoid further escalation," the CSTO chief added.
Middle East crisis
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 240 hostages, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis, and has been delivering air strikes on Gaza as well as some parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes have also been reported on the West Bank.
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. Following the military action, Tehran asserted that it was not planning any further action, while Jerusalem said that it was preparing to retaliate. Israel has been assisted in intercepting Iranian missiles and drones by the UK, the US, and France.
On April 19, Iranian media reported that three drones had been shot down over Iran's Isfahan province. The country’s top diplomat Hosein Amir-Abdollahian,said that "no damage was caused by the downed quadcopters." Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the raid, which came six days after a massive Iranian attack on Israeli territory. However, in an interview with the Washington Post, an unnamed Israeli official confirmed that the country carried out the action to demonstrate its ability to strike targets in Iran.