A common enemy -- the United States -- has brought Iran and Russia together despite their troubled history and deep mistrust. Now, two of the world’s most sanctioned nations are poised to sign a strategic partnership that will govern their bilateral relations for the next two decades.
The agreement deepens the ties between Tehran and Moscow, which have expanded in recent years, including in Syria -- where both countries bolstered the regime of now-deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad -- as well in Ukraine, where Iran, despite official denials, has supplied cheap drones to Russia for the all-out war the Kremlin launched on its neighbor in 2022.
The agreement, expected to be signed during Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on January 17, is likely to be viewed with distrust and suspicion by the Iranian public -- and even by some of the country’s politicians who say Tehran cannot trust Moscow.
Most recently, a senior commander with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) accused Russia of betrayal in Syria and aligning with Iran’s chief enemy, Israel.
In 2021, it was Iran's then-Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, currently serving as a vice president for strategic affairs, who accused Russia of working to undermine nuclear diplomacy with the West.
The new partnership agreement comes with the Islamic republic at one of its weakest points in recent history.
Iran’s economy is in shambles, and its so-called “axis of resistance” is significantly weakened -- or even dead, as some would argue.
Meanwhile, the regime faces an Iranian public increasingly angry and frustrated by the clerics’ more than four decades of mismanagement and incompetence, which have brought misery and poverty, repression, and even widespread power cuts in a country with major energy resources.
The signing of Iran’s new strategic partnership with Russia comes days ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington on January 20, and Iranian officials -- including Pezeshkian -- have been sending signals to Trump’s incoming administration, which is likely to ramp up pressure on Tehran.
The agreement is unlikely to offer the Islamic republic much-needed economic relief or provide Iran security amid heightened tensions with Israel and reports that Tel Aviv could strike Iran’s nuclear sites.
For now, Tehran’s ties with Russia have brought the country more sanctions and isolation while strengthening its pariah-state image.
The partnership is likely to bring even more international pressure on Iran and make a potential detente with the West more difficult.
