Russian and Iranian heads meet under strengthening bonds and an intensifying Middle Eastern dispute
At a gathering in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan's capital, which serves as the host city for a regional summit, the relationship between Iran and Russia's military has been growing more intimate in recent years, particularly since the conflict in Ukraine commenced in February 2022.
As per US authorities, Iran has provided thousands of "Shahed" assault drones to Russia and even constructed a drone manufacturing facility within Russian borders. Furthermore, Iran transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to be utilized against Ukraine, according to a CNN report released in September. This marked a significant escalation in Iran's support for Russia.
Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, a senior analyst and associate fellow at UK think tank Chatham House, explained that "since Ukraine, both countries have been more balanced, relying on each other for specific issues. And that, I think, has been beneficial from the Iranian perspective."
Moscow and Tehran have formed a de facto military alliance in the region to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime. Analysts note that the two countries have found additional common ground as they increasingly face global sanctions.
Moscow perceives Iran as possessing knowledge of the measures to bypass sanctions, according to Bassiri Tabrizi. She also mentioned that this goal aligns with Iran's broader objective of joining the BRICS, which is a bloc of significant emerging economies that Iran formally joined early this year.
Pezeshkian, a reformist who won Iran's election in July upon the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, has already highlighted his ambition to fortify bilateral connections with Russia to counter Western sanctions.
In a discussion with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Tehran last week, the Iranian leader advocated for expediting joint ventures. Meanwhile, Russia expressed enthusiasm for increasing trade and economic cooperation as well as diversifying its bilateral trade with Iran.
Russian Prime Minister Mishustin also welcomed Pezeshkian's attendance at the October BRICS summit in Russia, during which the two countries are expected to sign a comprehensive strategic agreement.
Russia's foreign ministry celebrated these meetings as proof that Russia-Iran relationships are currently at their "highest level" as reported by TASS.
There were also rumors of Russian involvement in arms deliveries to the Iran-backed Houthis. Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer infamously exchanged in a prisoner swap for American basketball player Brittney Griner, is allegedly back in the arms trade, negotiating the sale of $10 million worth of automatic weapons to the Yemen-based rebels, as reported by The Wall Street Journal and other Western media outlets. Bout denies these allegations.
Despite advancements in the Middle East, Bassiri Tabrizi noted that these developments have not necessarily bolstered Iran-Russia relations, and some analysts argue that Russia stands to gain from the conflicts involving Iranian proxies distracting from the war in Ukraine on the international stage.
"We understand that Russia is heavily invested in what is happening in Ukraine. It probably cannot extend itself much in terms of delivering technical and military capacity to Iran beyond a certain point," Bassiri Tabrizi told CNN. "While the relationship is growing and is likely to continue to grow, there will be continued tensions, continued misalignment."
CNN's Gianluca Mezzofiore, Natasha Bertrand and Kylie Atwood contributed to this report.
The growing intimacy between Iran and Russia's military has been affecting the world's geopolitical dynamics significantly, especially in the wake of the conflict in Ukraine.
The strategic alliance between Iran and Russia extends beyond military support, with Iran providing Russia with knowledge to bypass global sanctions, as recognized by Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi.
