Iran, Russia foreign ministers say they support Syria in confronting rebels, Iran state media reports

Syrian opposition fighters stand in front of University of Aleppo, after rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad said they had reached the heart of Aleppo

(Reuters) - The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia voiced support for Syria on Saturday during a major attack by rebel groups, Iranian state media reported.

Iran's Abbas Araqchi told Russia's Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the attacks were part of an Israeli-U.S. plan to destabilise the region, state media said.

According to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry about the call, both sides "expressed extreme concern about the dangerous escalation of the situation in Syria due to the terrorist offensive by armed groups in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces".

The ministers agreed on the need to intensify joint efforts aimed at stabilising the situation in Syria.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia's Lavrov spoke on the matter with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra)