How Russia Is Getting Drawn Into The Middle East Conflict, Kremlin’s Ties With Israel, Iran Explained
Even though Russia and Iran are not planning to enter into a full military alliance, Moscow has successfully used Iranian equipment and technology in Ukraine, as per reports
Amidst the escalation in the Middle East conflict, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishutin visited Iran this week to discuss trade and economy. The two countries share warm relations for decades due to their anti-West views.
Interestingly, Russia has always maintained open communication with the Middle Eastern countries by not meddling into their regional conflicts. But dynamics changed after October 7, 2023 attacks in Gaza and full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia; Moscow has become closer to Iran, which has caused serious concerns in the US and Israel.
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Even if Russia tries to perform a balancing act in the Middle East, regional powers would believe it has already taken a side and they will act accordingly.
Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali told Iranian state media IRNA on Saturday that the Russian PM’s trip was aimed at “aimed at enhancing bilateral relations and following up on existing agreements between the two sides." Jalali said, “This visit is very important and could create significant momentum in Iran-Russia economic relations," as quoted by The Jerusalem Post.
How Russia and Iran Became Closer?
Moscow condemned Israel’s killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah as leading to “a significant stabilization of the situation in the region", which is “developing under the most worrying scenario", said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on October 2.
Interestingly, US’ increased sanctions against Iran and the growing tension in the Middle East have seem to bring Tehran and Moscow closer.
During talks with Russian PM Mishustin’s, Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Aref noted “Russia’s constructive position" in the UN Security Council, which could be effective to stop crimes in Gaza and Lebanon.
Although Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated at a meeting in New York with foreign journalists that Iran had never supported Russia against Ukraine, he also said “sanctions against Iran and Russia require us to jointly strengthen our power".
Meanwhile, Russia and Iran are preparing to ink a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement that they have already been working on for a while. It needs to be seen if the Iranian President’s planned visit to the Russian city of Kazan for the BRICS summit in mid-October takes place amid the escalation in the Middle East.
Reports also suggest that a gas deal between the two countries is in the pipeline after Gazprom’s CEO Alexei Miller’s visit to Tehran in June. During the visit, state-run Gazprom signed a strategic memorandum with National Iranian Gas Co. to consider pipeline supplies of Russian gas to Iran.
Iran’s former oil minister, Javad Owji, said in July that Russian gas supplies to Iran would total 300 million cubic meters per day, or some 109 billion cubic meters per year, a figure greeted with skepticism by many.
How Russia Got Involved in the Middle East Conflict
Even though Russia and Iran are not planning to enter into a full military alliance, Moscow has successfully used Iranian equipment and technology in Ukraine, as per a report by Carnegie Endowment. Russian generals have learnt from their Iranian counterparts, as a result, Moscow is looking at selling modern military equipment to their students.
Iran’s weak air force and underdeveloped air defences in comparison to Israel, which gets the might from the US military, is another reason why Russia has agreed to supply Tehran with military helicopters and fighter jets: Su-35 fighters, Mi-28 attack helicopters and Yak-130 jet trainers, as per Carnegie Endowment report.
Although Iran would like to acquire full air defense systems, it is unlikely that Russia will have any spares to send to Tehran in the immediate future as it is engaged in fending off Ukrainian missiles and drones.
Recent leaks confirm the Kremlin is seriously considering supplying weapons not only to Iran, but also to pro-Iran groups that would likely use them to target US forces.
For example, Russia supplied weapons to the Houthis in Yemen, which was strongly opposed by the Saudi Arabia. But there is likely to be far less protest over deliveries to Shiite militias in Iraq, Lebanese forces, or armed groups in Syria.
How Russia’s Ties with Israel Changed Over Time
During the Soviet Union period and Cold War, there was heightened hostility towards Israel due to domestic anti-semitism and Kremlin’s suspicion of Soviet Jews having divided loyalties after the creation of Israel in 1948. The USSR actively blocked Soviet Jews from leaving the country to settle in Israel.
A lot of focus inside the Soviet Union was on building relationships with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Arab countries opposed to Israel.
In the 1990s, the Russian government played a role in international efforts to move towards a two-state solution, but the relationship with Israel was tense. In the 1990s and early 2000s, after the collapse of the USSR, restrictions on leaving the country were lifted. There was a wave of Jewish migration from Russia and other post-Soviet countries like Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. Most went to Israel as well as to the US, and to some extent to Europe.
After Vladimir Putin came along in 2000, things changed. Due to his personal ties to Jewish families he grew up in Leningrad and St. Petersburg, Putin seemed to shape the Russian-Israeli relations. He encouraged Israelis and other Jewish emigres in the US and Europe to start coming back to Russia.
He saw Israel as a key pillar for Russian foreign policy in the Middle East, alongside Iran and Saudi Arabia. In the 2015 Syrian civil war, Putin claimed that Moscow partly intervened to ensure Israel’s protection because Israel was threatened directly by Iran and its proxies Hezbollah and Islamic State. He even told Israelis that no attacks would take place on Golan Heights.
The Russian presence in Syria became so much important that officials in Israel began referring to Russia as “our neighbor to the north," including in discussions with US and other counterparts.
But in the last two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin called Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Jewish president of Ukraine, a Nazi and directly offended Israel on this issue.
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