Russia and Iran; How they're getting closer despite a complicated relationship.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian

President Ibrahim Raisi met in Tehran in July

After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is seen as an untouchable in many parts of the world. The diminished status has forced Russia to focus on alliances it might not have considered in better times. One of them is its complicated relationship with Iran.

They are nations that are historically divided on many issues. Historically, many Iranians remember atrocities at the hands of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. Apart from this, there are differences between them at the economic level as they are rivals in energy matters as well.

But their hostility towards the West often brings them together.

Since launching his invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has made five foreign visits, including to all countries bordering the former Soviet 'Istan' except Tehran. It should be noted that last July he visited Tehran, which the world considered as one of the rare visits.

Surprisingly, during the visit, Putin called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Syria, calling for strict adherence to the 'fundamental principles of respect for sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity'.

By visiting Iran, Putin sought to show the world that despite efforts to isolate Russia, it still has allies and retains some international significance.

But in fact many saw it as further evidence of Russia's political and diplomatic exclusion.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: 'This shows how isolated Mr Putin and Russia are becoming. Now they have to turn to Iran for help.

Russia appears to have received military assistance in Iran recently.

   Russia is reportedly using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine

In Monday's attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, Russian forces used Iranian-made Shahid-136 drones, which have a range of more than 2,000 kilometers and can fly autonomously.

Although Tehran has officially denied supplying Russia with the equipment, U.S. officials say the first shipment was delivered in August.

A recent report by the Washington-based think tank 'Institute for the Study of War' suggests that a group of Iranians may have traveled to Russian-held areas in Ukraine to teach Russian forces how to use drones. what happened.

Russian President Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi lead the world's most embargoed countries, after Syria, Belarus and Venezuela. There are governments in Syria, Belarus and Venezuela that are criticized by the West.

But the alliance between Russia and Iran is more complicated than Putin wants.

Hamidreza Azizi, an expert on Iran-Russia relations at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, says Moscow and Tehran have a relationship that can be described as a fluctuating combination of friendship and hostility.

Speaking to BBC Mundo, he said: 'The current leaders of both countries like to emphasize that they have a strategic relationship and are allies.

"But on the other hand, if we look at them in Syria, how they operate and take into account the energy issues, we find that they have animosity."

Although Russia and Iran agree that Syria should remain under the rule of Bashar al-Assad, the interests of Moscow and Tehran collide.

They want to maintain certain types of fighting for control of certain areas while having very different visions of what a post-war Syria should look like.

     The Iranian revolution had to resist the influence of both Russia and America

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A complicated past

But the conflict between Russia and Iran is historical.

"Iranians are very suspicious of Russia, because the Russians have a long history of interfering in their country's (Iran's) affairs," Azizi says.

During the 19th century and part of the 20th century, Iran had to learn to live with constant and often successful Russian attempts to control its territory and influence its politics.

For example, one of the aims of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979 was to specifically confront the Soviet Union.

However, relations have improved since Putin's visit to Iran in 2007. It should be noted that this visit was the first visit of a Russian leader to Tehran since Joseph Stalin in 1943.

Although Azizi says he still does not see Russia and Iran as allies, he acknowledges that they have gradually developed strategic ties since then.

"Despite the rivalry between the two in Syria, there has been a lot of cooperation between the two on the ground," he says.

"We are also now seeing that Iranian drones are now being used by Russia, which in itself is rare."

Russia wants to drag Iran into conflict'

Russia continues to seek allies around the world to counter US influence, particularly after Western sanctions imposed on it for its annexation of Crimea in 2014 have made Iran a 'proxy for Russia'. 'Partner of Convenience' has been made.

This has been said by Alam Saleh, an expert in his subject at the Australian National University's Center for Arab and Islamic Studies. He further says that both Moscow and Tehran want to achieve different goals from this mutual relationship.

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He said: 'Russia wants to drag Iran into conflict with Ukraine and to ensure that Tehran is criticized by the West in order to further distance it from the Western sphere.'

He insists that 'Russia does not need Iranian weapons, it only wants help in a moment of isolation.'

The need for Tehran to partner with Russia arose when former President Donald Trump decided to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

Azizi of the German Institute says that 'the Iranian government was in a desperate situation and had to review its relations with Russia with the desire for closer cooperation with that country.'

Alam Saleh believes that in addition to economic and military support, Iran needs and wants Russia's support at the United Nations in the latest wave of protests that the Iranian government is currently struggling with.

During his visit to Iran, Putin pledged to expand economic cooperation and signed an agreement to invest in Iran's oil and gas sectors.

The Iranian government has described the protests as riots staged by foreign enemies

Two countries that do not complement each other

But many suspect that Russia can't help much, at least not economically.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the Russian economy is expected to shrink by 3.5 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year after a series of Western sanctions packages.

Hamid Raza Azizi points out that economy has never been an important part of Russia-Iran relations anyway.

"Economically, Russia and Iran are rivals of each other. Both countries depend on revenues from hydrocarbon and energy sales.

And the two economies have developed in such a way that meaningful cooperation between them has become difficult.

Hamidreza Azizi says that it is difficult for Iran to become a market for the technological products that Russia needs and vice versa. Both countries will have to look either to the West or to China to meet their needs, as they have been doing lately.'

Azizi warned that the future of bilateral relations would depend on Iran's domestic situation.

If the current protests rocking Iran lead to fundamental changes in the political system, the 'strategic cooperation' with Moscow may end..

Source/BBC

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