Tehran's supply of drones to Moscow deepens cooperation between two seemingly unlikely allies.
When the Russian plane arrived in Iran with 140 million euros in cash and trophy Western weapons in exchange for Iranian drones, it marked a new stage in the alliance between the two countries. Apparently, the delivery of cash and drones took place in August. And after Russia received the first Iranian drones for the war against Ukraine, it was Iran's first known contribution to the Russian offensive in Europe. But the bond between the two countries was forged on another continent, devastated by the war in the Middle East, writes The Guardian.
A common desire to disrupt the established order and shake the West
At the height of the struggle against Bashar al-Assad for saving Syria from the forces that defeated his army, Iranian General Qasem Suleimani was later killedflew to Moscow to meet with Putin. There, he opened the cards in front of the head of the Kremlin and described the torment of Assad, the British publication writes. That visit laid the groundwork for Russia's intervention in 2015 and created an agreement between two countries that had little in common other than a shared desire to disrupt the established order and shake up the collective West.
Syria was the arena for the start of cooperation, Ukraine is turning into battlefield
While Syria was the arena for such cooperation to begin, Ukraine is fast becoming a battleground on which it is being strengthened. Iran's usually inflexible Islamic leaders and Putin's brand of secular, blood-and-soil nationalism have found common ground despite very different governing styles and goals. Their common interests made them natural partners.
“This partnership first took shape in Syria, and it continues to develop in Ukraine,” said Charles Lister, senior fellow and director of the Middle East Institute's Syria Program.< /p>
Read also: The president will make a decision on the (non)severing of diplomatic relations between our country and Iran in the coming weeks – the special representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa ], and later this intervention was reinforced by Russian intervention, in Ukraine everything was the opposite. When Iran recently actually entered the war on the side of the Russian Federation due to the transfer of strategic weapons to Moscow”.
Sky News, which first reported the cash shipment from Russia this week, said its sources suggested more Iranian drones were likely to be delivered, deepening cooperation between the two nations and exposing civilian targets to more destruction before winter.
Already delivered drones were used to destroy Ukrainian cities. Many have been deployed as kamikazes, while others have missile platforms that have damaged hospitals and power plants.
Also read: Iran started supplying kamikaze drones to Russia after February 24 – GUR
Large-scale attacks on civilian targets have been a hallmark of Russia's attacks on eastern Syria over the past seven years, where hospitals, schools, bakeries and food queues have been regularly shelled and at least several thousand civilians have been killed. Last week, a Russian drone helped direct Syrian rockets carrying cluster bombs into a camp for Syrian displaced people in the country's northwest, killing nine people and injuring 75 others.
“The greatest concern for the Syrian people is to end the terrorist attacks that continue to kill their children and harass displaced people across the country,” said the White Helmets, a rapid response group that operates in opposition-held parts of Syria. “However, it is difficult to negotiate and make demands to a military machine that knows nothing but killing. It is also difficult to ask for help from the international community, which is guided by political balances and regional interests far from human rights.”
Read also: Russia has sent more than 500 experienced Syrian fighters to Ukraine – Middle East Eye
Russia's military campaign has been concentrated in northern Syria, but with Iran it has shared spheres of influence across the country, sharing the cogs of the Syrian army and intelligence apparatus. The two countries have very different views on what kind of country they expect to see in the ruins of Syria, but so far they reject the vision of an end to hostilities.
The Iran-Russia-DPRK alliance line
“With Generals Dvornikov and now Surovikin, Russia's war in Ukraine was led by Syrian veterans,” Lister said. – Both invested heavily in establishing and expanding strategic partnership with Iranian forces.
Read also: “DPR” agrees on cooperation with the DPRK: Pushilin wrote a letter to Kim Jong Un
Related video
« These allies help each other, and the experience in Ukraine shows that Iran is forced to value its relationship with Putin. Despite the fact that China is smart enough to keep its distance, it is not surprising to see how Iran – and North Korea, the other side of the alliance with Syria – are doing everything possible to increase Russian aggression.”
See special topic: Sergiu , Kyiv and all of Ukraine are forever in debt to you: Serhiy Fedorivsky was commemorated in Kyiv The body of the activist and defender of Ukraine was found six months after his disappearance in a mass grave The US is concerned about the possible impact of the energy crisis in Europe on support for Ukraine – Politico Washington is trying to strengthen European support for the strategy towards Ukraine. The “White” ticket: what the categories in it mean Not everyone who has a “white” ticket is released from service. The Armed Forces of Ukraine on the approaches to Kherson: what is happening in the city now The liberation operation continues, the Armed Forces say. Prime Minister of Italy promised NATO commitment to support Ukraine Meloni met with the Secretary General of the Alliance.
