TEHRAN, July 24. /TASS/. Moscow remains an advocate of continued dialogue between Tehran and Washington, believing that will prevent negative consequences across the Middle East, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said.

"We very much want to see diplomatic efforts resume in the interests of all countries in the region that are suffering from the consequences of this aggression," he said in an interview with Tasnim.

Rudenko said Russia views the recent US strikes on Iran as a unilateral violation of the recently concluded memorandum of understanding.

The latest escalation in US-Iran tensions began on July 8, when US forces launched several waves of strikes on Iranian territory for the first time since Washington and Tehran signed the memorandum of understanding, declaring they were responding to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Later that day, US President Donald Trump announced the termination of the ceasefire with Iran.

In response, Tehran began striking US facilities across the Middle East located in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Oman.

The United States resumed its naval blockade of Iran on July 14.