The Unlikely Alliance: Russia and Iran’s Strategic Partnership
Alliances often form out of necessity rather than shared values. The emerging alliance between Russia and Iran is a prime example of this phenomenon. Despite their historical animosity and ideological differences, these two nations find themselves increasingly bound together by shared strategic interests and a common adversary: the United States.
The roots of this unlikely partnership can be traced back to the late 20th century. The Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, which saw the overthrow of the pro-Western Shah and the establishment of an Islamic Republic, marked a significant shift in the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. This revolution, coupled with the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1980, set the stage for the first instances of cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.
The Soviet Union’s primary motivation for invading Afghanistan was to prop up the Afghan Communist regime and prevent the Islamic revolution from expanding beyond Iran’s borders. Iran, on the other hand, supported the Shia Muslim mujahideen forces in Afghanistan fighting against the Soviets. Despite these conflicting interests, the two nations found themselves in direct combat on several occasions, with Soviet special forces launching raids into Iranian territory and Soviet fighter jets shooting down Iranian helicopters.
The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a turning point in Russia-Iran relations. The Russian Federation, no longer a committed communist and atheist state, began to improve its relations with Iran. By 2000, Iran was the third-largest customer of Russian-produced weapons, and by 2007, Russia agreed to supply Iran with its S-300 missile defense system.
The relationship between Moscow and Tehran took a significant turn towards a full-fledged alliance with the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. Both regimes found themselves backing the same side: the long-standing Arab nationalist regime of Bashar al-Assad and his Syrian Baath party. For Russia, maintaining relations with the Assad regime was crucial for its naval strategy in the Mediterranean. For Iran, the Assad regime’s survival was of strategic importance for its geopolitical strategy aimed at countering its perceived enemies across the Middle East: the United States, Israel, and the Gulf Arab monarchies.
The civil war in Syria threatened to destroy Iran’s decades of efforts in Lebanon, putting Hezbollah, a political military organization built out of Lebanon’s Shia Muslim population and financed and trained by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, into a position of power against Israel. If the pro-Iranian and pro-Hezbollah Assad regime were to fall from power, Iran’s ability to funnel weapons and supplies by land to Hezbollah would be destroyed, crippling its ability to attack Israel and project power into the Mediterranean.
In response to this threat, Iran found itself fighting side by side with Russia in Syria. The culmination of Iranian forces and their proxies fighting on the ground and the Russian Air Force fighting in the skies won Assad control over most of the country by 2019. This victory was a strategic win for both Russia and Iran, securing Russia’s southern flank against NATO in the Mediterranean and preserving Iran’s supply routes to Hezbollah.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 further solidified the Russia-Iran alliance. As Western financial sanctions began to rain down on Russia, Iran stepped in to provide the Russians with drones, missiles, body armor, and more. In return, Russia agreed to sell Iran some of its more advanced fighter jets and potentially its advanced air defense systems.
