Putin’s Strategic Support for Iran Amid Rising Tensions with the US

In the wake of the recent Middle East conflict, Russia has solidified its position as a crucial ally to Iran, offering significant intelligence and military support. The Kremlin has extended its assistance by providing satellite images, battlefield insights, and strategic advice on drone operations, drawing from its own experiences in Ukraine, according to Western authorities.

While Russia has not engaged directly in military operations, analysts suggest that such an escalation remains a possibility. This partnership underscores the deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran amid regional tensions.

Concurrently, the United States has relaxed its sanctions on Russian oil exports in an effort to stabilize soaring oil prices triggered by the conflict. However, this decision has sparked criticism, with some arguing it might inadvertently aid Russia in sustaining its ongoing military endeavors in Ukraine, now entering its fifth year.

Additionally, Western officials report that Russia has been actively sharing intelligence with Iran regarding the positioning of U.S. military assets in the region, including naval vessels and aircraft. This exchange of information highlights the strategic cooperation between the two nations as they navigate the complexities of the current geopolitical landscape.

Western officials say Russia has been supplying Iran with intelligence about US military positions in the region, including the location of warships and aircraft.

According to three officials familiar with the intelligence, the assistance has been ongoing since the start of the conflict.

One source told The Washington Post the alleged Russian support amounted to a ‘pretty comprehensive effort’ to help Tehran target American forces in the region.

The full extent of Moscow’s involvement remains unclear, but analysts say the intelligence sharing may help explain the precision of some Iranian attacks.

A Russian-made, Iran-designed Shahed-136 drone, known as a Geran-2 in Russia

Naval units from Iran and Russia carry out joint naval drills on February 19

Dara Massicot, an expert on the Russian military at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Iran had been making ‘very precise hits’ on radar and command infrastructure and appeared to be striking in a highly targeted way.

Russia’s satellite capabilities may play a role in this. Iran operates only a small number of military reconnaissance satellites, limiting its ability to track naval assets and other moving targets.

Russia’s intelligence network includes advanced surveillance systems capable of providing continuous optical and radar imagery. 

This network includes the Kanopus-V satellite, which was re-designated ‘Khayyam’ after being transferred for Iranian operational use.

The intelligence pipeline has reportedly allowed Iran to locate US and Israeli assets with a level of precision it could not achieve alone.

Nicole Grajewski, who studies Iran’s cooperation with Russia at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, said there had been a high level of ‘sophistication’ in Iran’s retaliatory strikes, both in the choice of targets and in its ability in some cases to overwhelm US and allied air defences.

Western intelligence officials also say Russia has been advising Iran on drone tactics developed during the war in Ukraine.

Shahed drones were originally designed by Iran but have been mass-produced by Russia and used extensively against Ukrainian cities.

One intelligence official told CNN that Moscow is now helping Tehran apply similar tactics against US and Gulf nation targets.

‘What was more general support is now getting more concerning, including UAS (drone) targeting strategies that Russia employed in Ukraine,’ the official said.

Russian forces have often launched large waves of drones in Ukraine, sending multiple aircraft together and changing their course to evade air defence systems.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that ‘Russia has started supporting the Iranian regime with drones. It will definitely help with missiles, and it is also helping them with air defence’.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Russian military expert Keir Giles did not rule out the possibility of Moscow expanding on-the-ground support to the Islamic Republic.

‘It would be surprising if Russia were to provide anything that could be described as troops to engage in a war because, after all, what would be their purpose? 

‘However, it has been made plain to Russia that there have, as of yet, been no consequences for assisting Iran in its attacks on the US and its allies and partners in the Gulf region, including the UK. 

‘So for the time being, there is no reason for them not to continue to expand that support, because it meets Russia’s objectives of weakening the West overall,’ he added. 

Russia has already offered strong political support to Iran’s leadership.

President Vladimir Putin pledged ‘unwavering support’ to Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who took power after his father was killed in US Israeli strikes.

‘I would like to reaffirm our unwavering support for Tehran and solidarity with our Iranian friends,’ Putin said in a message last Monday, adding that ‘Russia has been and will remain a reliable partner’ to Iran.

‘At a time when Iran is confronting armed aggression, your tenure in this high position will undoubtedly require great courage and dedication,’ he added.

Russia’s ambassador to the UK, Andrey Kelin, also said Moscow was ‘not neutral’ in the conflict, saying ‘of course’ Russia supports Tehran.

At the same time, Moscow previously called for the war to end. The Kremlin said Putin had urged an ‘immediate cessation of hostilities’ and a ‘return to the path of political and diplomatic resolution’.

Tankers sail in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, amid rising oil prices due to the Iran war

Meanwhile, experts have said that Russia’s relationship with Iran is simply a pragmatic one, rather than a formal alliance. 

Moscow and Tehran have worked together closely in the military and industrial sphere for years. Iran provided Russia with drone technology used in Ukraine, while Moscow has increased arms supplies to Tehran.

Iran received combat trainer aircraft, armoured vehicles, attack helicopters and smaller air defence systems from Russia. 

The two countries have also cooperated in space and nuclear technology, with Russia building a nuclear power plant in Iran. 

However, some say it is surprising that Russia was willing to risk offending the US by supplying Iran with targeted information to attack US facilities and personnel at a time when negotiations are ongoing regarding Ukraine. 

Giles said: ‘You might think Russia would invest more in keeping the US on its side and making sure that they do not spoil this relationship, where the United States is very willing to meet Russia’s objectives in so many different domains.’

The military expert said, however, that the US has been willing to ‘disregard’ reports of Russia helping Iran, admitting that Russia’s gamble ‘paid off’.

‘Senior US figures have been perfectly willing either to disregard those reports or to say that it doesn’t matter that Russia is helping Iran try to kill Americans. That’s just another indication of how Russia, under any circumstances, gets a free pass from the current US leadership.’

The US easing sanctions on Moscow to tackle rising energy costs has emphasised this, with senior politicians warning this would embolden Putin to continue his war against Ukraine.

On Thursday, the US Treasury issued a licence authorising the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that have been loaded on vessels on or before 12.01am Eastern Time March 12, through 12.01am on April 11. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, speaking on a visit to Norway on Friday, said that ‘easing sanctions now, for whatever reason, is wrong’. 

He added: ‘We believe that is the wrong course of action. After all, we want to ensure that Russia does not exploit the war in Iran to weaken Ukraine.’

Merz said that G7 leaders had spoken with US President Donald Trump ‘about the issue of oil and gas deliveries from Russia’. 

‘Six members of the G7 were very clear in their opinion that this would not send the right signal. We then learnt this morning that the American government has apparently decided otherwise. Again, we believe this is wrong.’

Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, also said Washington’s move to ease sanctions was ‘very concerning,’ adding: ‘Increasing economic pressure on Russia is decisive for it to accept a serious negotiation for a just and lasting peace.’

Britain’s energy minister, Michael Shanks, confirmed Friday morning that the UK would not be loosening Russian sanctions ‘at all’, while France’s President Macron said the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz ‘in no way’ justified lifting sanctions against Putin.

As Russia creeps its way into the Middle East war, Giles says there is no denying that a global conflict is underway.

‘It is becoming harder and harder to deny that there is a global conflict underway, of which Ukraine for a long time has been just the front line,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘The coalition of countries which challenge the rules-based international order, now joined in some respects by the United States, is not a new problem, and it is the hard decisions on how to deal with it that have been put off for far too long by governments like the one in the UK.’

‘There is no reason for Russia to stop [supporting Iran] and Russia needs to be given a reason to stop.

‘The US doesn’t seem to be willing to do so. The UK, for the time being, does not appear able. So, where does that leave us?’ he questioned.