Putin’s Strategic Advantage in the Middle East: The Conflict Between Iran and the West

The visit of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Ahmadian, to the northern capital of Russia, Saint Petersburg, and his talks with his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, had an important effect against the growing tensions. growing in Iran relations. with the West, and increased activity of Russian moves to get the most benefits from the worsening situation around the region.

It is true that the visit came within the framework of Ahmadian’s participation in the work of the 12th session of the meeting of prominent security officials that Russia is hosting these days, but the most prominent element is that this is the first visit by Iranian security. official abroad following the worsening situation in Iran-West relations against the backdrop of recent exchange strikes between Tehran and Tel Aviv. The bilateral meetings that took place on the sidelines of the international meeting were the most prominent place of attention, especially with the participation of a large number of “allies” of Russia and Iran in this forum.

The news came at the end of the meeting about the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Security Councils of Russia and Iran, adding a new dimension to the events regarding the strengthening of the Russian-Iranian alliance in various fields, as well as the two parties. ‘ stress that the greatest attention was paid to “issues related to the development of practical Russian-Iranian cooperation in the field of security.

A message to the West

Pointing out that rising tensions in the Middle East were the main element present at the negotiating table, the Russian Security Council statement said that “the two parties exchanged views on the situation in the East Medium, affirming the interest in preventing additional tension. .”

It should be noted that this visit is the second visit by Ahmadian to Russia since the beginning of the year, and as happened this time, the previous visit in January also confirmed that relations and cooperation on the move security level to “completely new. level,” according to the description of the press service. agreements concluded at the highest levels.”

What is interesting is that Russia’s desire to show the development levels of the relationship with Iran, in different areas, has carried, in its time and in the ways of announcing it, certain messages to the West, according to Russian experts who saw that Moscow does not hide its willingness to show all kinds of direct and indirect support to Iran in complicated situations and the complex situation that is currently in the Middle East.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani participates in a meeting of BRICS countries on developments in the Middle East in Moscow (Iranian government)

“BRICS”

Within the framework of coordinating Russia’s policies towards the Middle East with its allies, the Russian Foreign Ministry organized, on Thursday, a meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers and special representatives of the BRICS member states, the first of its kind for the group, which is dedicated to the review of developments in the Middle East with the participation of the new members of this group, after being expanded at the beginning of the year, including , in addition to Russia, China, India, Brazil, and South Africa, representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Iran.

From the Iranian side, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs, Ali Bagheri Kani, participated in the meeting.

Note that Russia is the chairman of the BRICS group for this year, and it is trying to revive the movement of the group in a way that supports the regional policies of Moscow and its allies, which was highlighted in a speech The beginning of the meeting was given by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mikhail Bogdanov.

While Baqeri Kani focused on Iran’s vision regarding developments in the Middle East and “the continuous attacks of the Israeli entity on countries in the region, including the consulate of our embassy in Damascus. “

Bogdanov started the meeting by holding a bilateral meeting with Bagheri Kani, during which both sides discussed developments in the regional situation and ways to strengthen coordination between Moscow and Tehran.

Critical variable

Although Russia in its official positions confirmed the call on “all parties” in the region to prevent and not be drawn into expanding the scope and level of the conflicts, the Kremlin was at the same time to determine the level of support for Tehran. positions, directly by announcing substantial progress in deepening the alliance in several areas, and also indirectly through the implementation of coordination with China in this area, and placing messages that Moscow supports the movements of other “allies” to support Tehran’s positions, which was confirmed, for example, by the Russian government’s media focus in the last two days on the visit of a delegation Senior North Korean economist to Tehran and the course of negotiations and agreements during this visit.

This is what has led Western circles to conclude that the Kremlin is actively working to take advantage of the worsening situation in the region to strengthen its regional cards.

The official Novosti news agency quoted former Pentagon adviser Douglas McGregor as saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin “holds all the cards in the situation in the Middle East, and that it has great influence among the countries of the region. “

Ahmadian stands in front of a drone during his visit to a military exhibition in Moscow (Fars)

The consultant believed that “Russia has become an important factor in the equation in the Middle East. ” He is more than just an employee. It is a crucial variable. For now, Vladimir Putin holds all the cards in his hands behind the scenes in the Middle East. “It reinforces a very good situation. “

According to the analysis, the Kremlin master asks the parties to use restraint and patience, and his movements show at the same time that he doubles his benefits.

Last week, Putin held a phone call with President Ebrahim Raisi, when they discussed the situation in the Middle East after the Israeli strike and Tehran’s response. The two presidents confirmed, according to the Kremlin statement, that “the root cause of the current events in this region is the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”

Although Putin expressed during the conversation that he hoped “the sides of Iran and Israel will maintain control and not allow a new round of conflict that threatens to bring catastrophic consequences to the Middle East until entire,” Russian circles saw it as the gateway that guides Moscow’s regional policies. enabling it to amass diplomatic benefits.

In this context, the focus on deepening security cooperation seemed to be a complementary link to a series of programs that laid practical foundations for strengthening the Russian-Iranian alliance in all areas. According to Iran’s ambassador to the Russian Federation, Kazem Jalali, Moscow and Tehran have made significant progress in deepening defense cooperation, which, according to the Iranian diplomat, “will not be directed against a third party .”

At the beginning of the year, Russia and Iran concluded a government agreement on military cooperation.

The agreement was signed by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani.

Moscow saw at the time that “the agreement is an important step in strengthening these relations by establishing the legal and theoretical foundations to consolidate full military cooperation.”

It should be noted that the terms of the agreement revealed new elements in the mechanisms of defense military cooperation, including, according to the Minister Sergei Shoigu, an understanding of cooperation in the area of ​​movements of military vessels which were stopped in the ports of Russia and Iran, and the expansion of the practice of exchanging delegations, training military personnel and exchanging experiences in the field of peacekeeping and combating terrorism.

Financial cooperation

On the economic level, the two countries have taken steps to increase cooperation in the area of ​​trying to rely on local currencies and escape Western sanctions, and the sophisticated newspaper “Vedomosti” that Russia and Iran discussed opportunities to create a stable currency with support. with gold According to experts, the speech focused on the use of cryptocurrencies instead of the dollar, rubles and Iran in trade between Russia and Iran. They say that this will only be possible when the authorities regulate cryptocurrency trading.

The reality of these talks with Iran was confirmed by Anton Tkachev, a member of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, ICT and Communications. He told him that in Russia, until this issue is discussed at the state level, the authorities must fully regulate cryptocurrency trading.

American concern

At the same time, these developments increased the level of Western concern about the prospects for Russian-Iranian cooperation, especially at the military level, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan expressed his concern about how -military operations between Iran, Russia and North Korea, claiming that Russia. Defense proposals for Iran and North Korea could further destabilize the West Asia-Pacific Region.

The American official said: “We are also closely monitoring Russia’s military proposals, and if Russia arms Iran, this will destabilize the Middle East.”

In response to a question about military relations between North Korea and Iran, Sullivan referred to “ties” in defense cooperation between the two countries. “From time to time, over many years and many administrations, we have seen a number of links in defense cooperation between North Korea and Iran, which have come and gone, and which have ebbed and flowed, ” he said.

Sullivan pointed out that what is new or different over the past two years is the depth of cooperation between Russia and Iran, and between Russia and North Korea.

He said: “We believe that this is a serious concern for the security of Europe, beyond the borders of Ukraine.” He said: “We are also concerned about what could happen on the other side. ” What will Russia give to North Korea or Iran that will destabilize the Indo-Pacific region or destabilize the Middle East?