Within a few months of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Iran took a stronger position in the partnership.
Russia and Iran expanded and deepened their strategic partnership after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, says a new report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). but recently the strengthening of their partnership and the deepening of relations in which Russia is no longer the dominant party has been recorded,” the document says.
Economic cooperation
Russia and Iran are working to expand bilateral trade and use non-dollar currencies. In particular, the increase in the use of the Mir electronic payment system instead of the SWIFT financial transaction service, access to which Russian banks have been blocked by Western sanctions.
“The expansion of bilateral trade without the US dollar is a long-standing goal of Russia and Iran. And it seems that Moscow is making efforts to implement it as soon as possible in response to growing global isolation and international sanctions,” analysts emphasize.
Iran also seeks greater economic interaction with Belarus within the Union State. The agreements between Iran and Belarus underline Tehran's readiness to support Minsk, despite international sanctions, the authors believe.
Military cooperation
In recent months, Russia and Iran have also strengthened their military cooperation regarding Ukraine, Syria and Venezuela.
Iran provides Russia with combat drones for the war against Ukraine, in particular, the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 attack drones. According to the media, the Kremlin has already received 46 such drones, and Tehran can provide a total of 300. The Reuters agency writes that the Russian military is training in Iran to practice with these drones.
August 9 < Russia has launched the Kanopus-V satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which allows receiving high-resolution photos that can be used by Iran to support military operations and attacks on US and allied forces in the Middle East.
In turn, the Russian Federation can supply Su-35 fighters. According to media reports, Russia is already training Iranian pilots and technicians to fly and maintain fighter jets.
“Iran could provide additional military or cyber assistance to Russia, including ballistic and cruise missiles, and help Russian forces replenish their missile stocks, which are running out, with Iranian counterparts,” the report says.
Partners may also agree on replacing Russian units in Syria with Iranian ones, this will allow the Kremlin to free up forces to shift to the war against Ukraine.
In Venezuela, Russia will hold military exercises with Iran, China and other countries on August 13-27. Probably to show the strength of force to the United States.
Changing power dynamics
Iran is now in a stronger position in this partnership than before. Russia has historically been the dominant party, but in recent months, Iranian leaders have obtained military concessions from the Kremlin: traditionally, it was Tehran that sought to buy military technology from Moscow, not the other way around. President of the Russian Federation Vladimir) Putin is looking for economic and military support from the position of growing need. Increasing global isolation and the war in Ukraine are weakening Putin and forcing him to lean more heavily on Iran (and other revisionist states),” the report says.
Analysts suggest that this partnership could challenge the interests of the US and its allies in Europe, the Middle East and around the world.
Supporting Iran could help the Russian leader achieve certain goals in Ukraine and Eastern Europe. And Russia's support for Iran's military-space program and the strengthening of Iran's influence in Syria will increase the threat to allies in the Middle East.
In addition, Moscow and Tehran can use their economic ties to soften the impact of American sanctions.
Read also: Iran could send the first batch of UAVs to Russia for field tests – intelligence service
Related video
The tripartite summit of Presidents Putin, Erdogan and Raisi in Tehran attracted the attention of the whole world. The rapprochement between Moscow and Tehran against the background of the introduction of unprecedented sanctions against Russia was assessed as an attempt to form a stable alliance against the West with far-reaching intentions to oust the USA from the region. Why did Putin, Erdogan and Raisi meet in Tehran and what they achieved, read in Igor Semivolos' article “Putin in Iran: who beat whom there“.
