Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday his country will do "everything" to prevent arch-rival Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, during a visit by a senior Russian security official.

"Israel will not allow Iran, which calls for our destruction, to entrench on our border; we will do everything to prevent it from attaining nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said.

He was speaking alongside Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Moscow's powerful security council, whose visit followed weeks of simmering tensions between Tehran and Washington in the Gulf.

Israel has carried out repeated strikes to prevent Iranian forces becoming embedded in neighbouring Syria, where both Iran and Moscow back the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Israeli government has vowed never to let Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, believing Israel would be the target.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely for civilian purposes.

Netanyahu has long campaigned against a 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, from which the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew last year.

Patrushev did not directly mention the Islamic republic in his comments to the press.

"We pay great attention to Israel's security," he said.

"To resolve this issue in practice, it is necessary to bring peace and stability to the region, including on Syrian territory."

Their meeting came a day after Netanyahu hosted US National Security Advisor John Bolton, who shares the Israeli premier's tough stance on Iran.

Bolton is set to meet Patrushev on Tuesday along with their Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat.

Tensions between Washington and Iran have flared after Iranian forces shot down a US drone Thursday, the latest in a series of incidents including attacks on tankers in sensitive Gulf waters that have raised fears of an unintended slide towards conflict.

Trump has tweeted that Washington would place "major additional sanctions on Iran on Monday".

Russia on Monday denounced the new sanctions as "illegal". Its President Vladimir Putin has warned of "disaster" if the US were to use force against Tehran.

France's Macron to discuss Iran tensions with Trump at G20
Marseille (AFP) June 24, 2019 - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he would discuss the current flare-up of tensions between Iran and the United States with President Donald Trump at this week's G20 summit in Japan, saying a solution was needed through dialogue to ensure regional security.

The tensions with Iran are set to loom large over the G20 meeting in Osaka later this week after the United States accused Iran of sabotaging ships.

"We have to find a constructive solution with the aim of ensuring collective regional security," Macron told reporters, urging diplomacy rather than an escalation of tensions.

With the EU increasingly concerned over the risk of conflict, Macron pointed to a rare visit by his top diplomatic advisor Emmanuel Bonne to Tehran last week for talks.

"We have condemned very strongly all forms of escalation or aggression and what we will try to have is dialogue," he said.

Iran-US tensions have increased sharply since Trump last year abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and reimposed sanctions, moves strongly opposed by Europe.

Last week Macron appealed to Iran to be "patient and responsible" after Tehran said it would soon surpass the uranium stockpile limit set under the nuclear accord.

Related Links
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Iran and US trade barbs ahead of new sanctions
Tehran (AFP) June 24, 2019
The United States on Monday was due to tighten sanctions on Iran as the two countries traded barbs in a tense standoff sparked by Washington's withdrawal from a nuclear deal. Both nations say they want to avoid going to war, but tensions have spiralled as a series of incidents, including attacks on tankers and the shooting down of a US drone by Iran in the Gulf, raised fears of an unintended slide towards conflict. On Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a US-made MQ9 Reaper ... read more