ASTRAKHAN, August 22. /TASS/. Iran thanks Moscow for directly condemning Israeli and US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, the ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali has said.

"A very odd picture illustrating this war – two countries that have nuclear weapons attacked a country that seeks only peaceful nuclear energy. We are very grateful to Russia. Moscow unequivocally condemned these attacks on nuclear facilities by both the Zionist regime and the US," he said, speaking at the opening of the Caspian Media Forum.

On June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than a day later, Tehran retaliated. The United States entered the conflict nine days after its escalation, striking Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. On the evening of June 23, Iran attacked the largest American air base in the Middle East, Al Udeid in Qatar. After that, US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a truce. The ceasefire came into effect on June 24.

About the forum

The idea for the forum emerged in 2014 at the summit of the five Caspian Sea countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan). The first Caspian Media Forum was held in Astrakhan in 2015. During the forum, a Caspian editorial office and an expert club were created in the Astrakhan Region. Information is being exchanged regularly. The forum is organized by the government of the Astrakhan Region with the support of the Russian Presidential Staff, the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Culture. TASS is the general information partner of the media forum. The events will be streamed in the official TASS communities, as well as on the Caspian Media Forum website.