"There have been telephone contacts between the leaders of Russia and Iran, between our representatives and the Israelis. We made it very clear in these conversations, and conveyed to the Israelis, that Iran does not want an escalation," the head of Russian diplomacy said in an interview with three Russian radio stations.

Lavrov explained that Tehran could not leave the attack on its consulate in Damascus, Syria, unanswered, but does not want an escalation.

"Virtually all experts assessed Iran's response in the same way," he added.

The Russian foreign minister was referring to Iran's attack last Saturday on Israel, with about 300 missiles and 'drones' (unmanned aircraft), 99% of which were intercepted by the country's anti-aircraft defense, according to Israeli authorities.

"All things considered, I hope I am not mistaken: this was the retaliation to the [Iranian] response carried out by Israel against Isfahan (Iran)," Lavrov said.

According to the American media, Israel launched several missiles against the Iranian province of Isfahan in the early hours of today.

But Iran denied the attack: first, it said that the anti-aircraft defense had shot down several 'drones' and, then, that there had been "several flying objects" in Isfahan, where the country's nuclear facilities are located.

Meanwhile, anonymous sources quoted by the Jerusalem Post newspaper stated that today's attack should be interpreted as a warning to Tehran about Israeli offensive capabilities and as a sign that Israel does not want a regional war.

"The message [of the attack] is unequivocal: 'This time, we decided not to attack your nuclear facilities, but it could have been worse'," the sources of the Israeli newspaper said.

Lavrov insisted today that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, which - he said - was verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In his opinion, all speculation about changes in Iran's nuclear doctrine is nothing more than a desire to divert attention from Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip to the alleged Iranian threats.

In the same interview with Russian radio stations, the Foreign Minister denied that France had invited Russia to the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings (June 6, 1944), after the organizers had indicated that they had sent an invitation to the Russian embassy in Paris, but not to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

"We were not invited," Lavrov said categorically, adding that this was a "peculiar way" of behaving in the West.

"When they want to do something, they can't do it within the bounds of decency. Because decent people send a letter and then announce it. But here, they say 'we will invite them, yes, but not Putin, we will invite someone else'," he commented.

Although the Soviet Union did not participate in the Normandy landings, first it and, later, the successor countries have been regularly invited to mark the event, due to the high price they paid during World War II, with almost 27 million civilian and military deaths.

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