Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it had the impression that the United States was looking for a pretext for conflict in the Persian Gulf.
Russian News Agency RT quoted a statement by Moscow's Foreign Ministry saying Russia is "deeply worried about recent developments in the Gulf, which risk igniting a large-scale military confrontation."
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The US, it said, is "adding fuel to a smoldering conflict" and is now building up "a naval coalition" tasked with piling military pressure on Tehran.
The report criticized Washington for "raising the stakes in the Gulf" in a bid "aimed at winning public support at home, ahead of the coming 2020 [presidential] elections." The Russian Foreign Ministry further slammed the "vicious practice of risking civilian lives in other countries, as well as the lives of own service members" in what it called the "pursuit of ratings or electoral success."
"Events there are really moving to a dangerous point and there are risks of a large-scale military clash," Russian News Agency RIA cited Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
"In principle, we have the sense that Washington is simply looking for a pretext to whip up the situation, continue its aggressive rhetoric toward Iran, and to shift to a hotter more active phase of the conflict."
Zakharova told the same news briefing that a US move to create a naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz looked like a crude attempt to pressure Iran.
Earlier this week, the United States renewed sanctions waivers for Iranian nuclear programs that allow Russia, China and European countries to continue their civilian nuclear cooperation with Tehran, White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday.
Still, Washington imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, potentially hurting chances of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions between the two countries.
Zarif, a critical figure in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, dismissed the action and said it would not affect him.
