Analysis: What Happens to Russia and Iran Ties after Syrian Crisis?

AhlulBayt News Agency - Since 2015, Moscow and Tehran have engaged in a wide-ranging political as well as military cooperation in Syria both to protect their common ally in Damascus and to fight international terrorism. This partnership has, without doubt, been unprecedented in the history of relations of two the countries.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, it is the first time that the Islamic Republic is building a military alliance with a foreign country- especially a non-Islamic country- to counter shared enemies. At the same time, this is adoptable, to a degree, about the Russians. This is the first time that Moscow is launching a military campaign beyond the Russian borders since the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

The Syrian government’s forces have succeeded in changing the balance of power in the battlefield in their favor since the time Russia and Iran have decided to use their power to have the back of the central Syrian government to battle an internationally-organized terrorism. A collaboration and coordination of the Russian cutting-edge fighter jets in mid-air with the Iran-led well-organized and motivated Resistance’ forces on the ground has yielded its results within a time span of less than five months. The partnership’s results became clearer especially when the allied forces have reached the two Syrian northern towns of Nobul and Al-Zahra and almost fully surrounded Aleppo, a majorly terrorist-held city of Syria. In addition to Aleppo, the government forces have managed to take the lead almost in all of the conflict points across the country with a strong Russian and Iranian back-up.

A close and persistent anti-terror partnership of Russia and Iran in Syria has raised a mutual confidence between them. Referring to Tehran-Moscow collaboration in the Syrian battle, the Financial Times website has maintained that the considerably consistent operations of Russia and Iran in Syria have eliminated a century of distrust and suspicion between them.              

The analysts suggest that an alliance of Moscow and Tehran not only has pushed the Western policies in Syria to tight corners but also, should it fully succeeds in meeting its organizers’ goals, it could be a turning point in the history of international relations. Alastair Crooke, the former agent of Britain’s spying agency MI6, in an article in the Huffington Post, has written that the coalition that included Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, once kept successful at it was, would, for the first time after Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, wrest the power from NATO to decide on the war and peace. Crooke adds that the 4+1 coalition’s audacity could help prove it as a successful non-Western pole. Additionally, the goal of the alliance is exactly to confront the regime changing projects which are designed by NATO, according the former MI6 agent. Crooke continues that the outlook of the 4+1 alliance would of course disrupt the West’s security arrangements, as it potentially could push for amendment of many NATO’s calculations.

The Russian-Iranian mutual efforts in Syria certainly have opened a new chapter in the ties of the two nations, the sign of which could be seen in the recent visit to Tehran by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian president has held a surprise meeting with the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei in Tehran, presenting a gift which contained a very significant message: In Moscow’s view point Tehran is the real center of the Muslim world. It could be for this message that Ali Akbar Velayati, the Supreme Leader’s top advisor, has said that Putin’s meeting with the Iranian leader perhaps was the most important in the record of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Beside massive cooperation, Iran and Russia hold their own essential differences. While the Islamic Republic thinks that resisting the plans of the US and the Israeli regime according to an Islamic viewpoint is a vital priority, the Russians not only are uninterested in a confrontation with Tel Aviv but also some analysts suggest that Moscow’s defined policy in West Asia is based on cooperation with West and not confrontation.

Sayyed Rasul Mousavi, an expert of Russian affairs and Iran’s former ambassador to Finland, has told the Al waght News that “unlike the former Soviet Union, today’s Russia does not look to the world from an ideological window, rather, it gives a pragmatic view to its national security.” “With this approach Moscow tries to save its place as a global power and reach a strategic stability with the US concerning the global security and it is on this basis that Moscow enters different regions and issues of rivalry so that it could have its own voice to support its own global policy.

This Russian attitude could be obviously seen in the recent ceasefire agreed upon in Syria between the warring sides. The truce is actually an outcome of negotiations of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with the US Secretary of State John Kerry. The ceasefire took effect after both sides’ allies have agreed with the terms of the deal. Furthermore, in mid-March, Sergey Lavrov has suggested that both the Russian and American forces launch a joint military operation in the city of Raqqa, ISIS terror group’s stronghold in Syria. “We are ready to coordinate our operations with those of the US and the US-led coalition to launch strikes in Raqqa because Raqqa is situated in east of Syria and the US-led coalition is majorly operating in that region,” said the Russian foreign minister.

Pointing to Moscow’s pragmatic foreign policy, the experts emphasize that Tehran should achieve a right understanding of the objectives and interests of Russia so that it could take the best advantage of its relations with Russia. Commenting on the case, the former Iranian ambassador to Finland has said that it was natural that the field of cooperation between the countries in not an everything-or-nothing game. The time that a country headed a bloc and other countries were infantries to the bloc has gone away and now the countries based on their own interests enter temporary alliances with other countries but these alliances are not against their interests or in best interest of the greater power, added Sayyed Rasul Mousavi. “The bottom line today is that we should understand our long-term interests in the Middle East region and at the same time figure out accurately Russia’s interests in the same region, and it is only then that we can easily say that these are our interests and those are your interests, and we work where we can agree, even if we have a different point of view,” continued former Iran’s envoy to Finland. This is completely normal and is not special of Iran and Russia as it could be seen in the US-Turkish, US-Saudi relations, as well as the Israeli regime and the US which hold the firmest alliance.

Putin’s decision to pull out of Syria a large part of his forces not only has surprised Moscow’s rival Washington but also it was even unpredictable for Russia’s allies. A slew of speculations have been raised on the reasons driving the Russian president to make the withdrawal decision, but what is clear is that this move confirms the pragmatic and independent behavior of Iran’s northern neighbor. It seems that Tehran has come up with the notion that partnership with the Russians should not be based on consistence of viewpoint and strategy but on common interests, something which is now observable between Tehran and Moscow as the two want to save the Syrian government and battle against international terrorism.




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