Russia condemns U.S.-Israeli strike near Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant reactor

MOSCOW, March 18 (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday condemned a strike near Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant a day earlier which it said was just metres away from its reactor and called on the United States and Israel to stop attacking the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities.

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, made the comments at a news briefing.

"We strongly condemn the irresponsible and utterly unacceptable missile strike on the inner perimeter of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, just a few metres from an operational reactor," Zakharova said.

Such strikes created unacceptable radiological risks for the Middle East, she said, and were fraught with unpredictable consequences.

Russia built the Bushehr plant, helps Iran run it, and is helping expand it.

Iran on Tuesday told the International Atomic Energy Agency that the attack had caused no damage or injuries.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)