Russia says tensions with Iran have made the prospect of “large-scale” conflict real, calling on world countries to support a Russian security doctrine of zero extra-regional military presence in the Middle East to prevent such a scenario.

Speaking at a BRICS foreign ministers meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov used the tensions between mainly the United States and Iran to promote the Moscow-proposed doctrine of collective security in the Middle East.

“The development of the situation [involving Iran] has reached a dangerous line, which is fraught with risks of large-scale warfare. We must do our best to prevent it,” Lavrov said.

He did not refer to any countries by name, however, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.