INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Having a long history of physical, productive, and socio-political interplay, the relationship between Iran and Russia goes back to
1521 when the first envoy was sent to Russia from Iran by Safavid Shah Ismail I to the Tsar Vasili III.This event marked the first
diplomatic contact between the two nations
As time passed, they shared a 2000-km borderline well before the Soviet disintegration in 1991
But the emerging scenario indicates that in spite of not being geographical neighbors the two countries still have their own reasons and
intentions to come together
more than the states of Central Asia and Transcaucasia because of Iran being a major player in the region owing to its strategic position in
Relationship, however, is slow but steady since they are sailing on the same boat considering the role played by the West against both the
Russia has upgraded its relations with Iran in order to buy more drones because Iran is a leading drone inventor and Russian drones have
been destroyed by heavy military equipment supplied by the West to Ukraine in the war
Russian officials have been seen visiting Iran five times in a row in recent times which denotes that there is immense inclination of Russia
to take its relationship with Iran forward from partnership to strategic allies
In fact, both are willing to perform as strategic and economic partners to one another as both countries are under sanctions by much of the
Eventually, they have come closer so much that energy cooperation appears to be an important agenda of their bilateral relations
In addition, much of the military weapons are coming from Iran to Russia and in return, Iran also purchases military hardware from Russia
also been criticism of the United States to put allegations on Iran for supplying military equipment to Ukraine or Russia
But, on the other hand, Iran in fact has passed a statement to bring peace in two nations, i.e., Ukraine and Russia in order to make Iranian
views clear on war without taking side of anyone of them
Both Iran and Russia are constantly making efforts to build up relations on the ground of history to earn good economic relations
Putin has been trying his best to improve Russian image amongst the Iranians
In addition to their trade and cooperation in hydrocarbons, Iran and Russia have also expanded trade ties in many non-energy sectors of the
economy, including a large agriculture agreement
They also have the same reason to limit the political influence of the United States in Central Asia which they can do by using the SCO
platform where Russia is a member while Iran has an observer status
The new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi who was elected in 2021 proposed a draft for 20 years cooperation agreement between the two
countries in order to negate the West
There is a potential for robust relations in terms of economy and the political will goes hand in hand through the INSTC which has both the
rail and sea routes that link India, Russia and Iran
On a positive note, with 81% hike in business between Iran and Russia it is obvious that both the nations can show an alternative for them
to bank upon against the Western sanctions
Russia is foreseeing Iran as a potential trade and military partner as well as an associate targeted with severe sanctions
Iran, on the other hand, has welcomed Putin with the red carpet in order to get political support at both international and regional levels
Iran in building nuclear power stations, sale of weapons and assisting Tehran with new technologies which were denied by other countries
only point to the fact that both countries now try to make a move towards anti-Western coalitions
Finding a way in such a manner that brings both of them on the same footing to tackle the repercussions of the Western sanctions is the need
This will also create ripples and will captivate the attention of the world to the Russian and Iranian geopolitical aspirations which, in
turn, will showcase the importance of the two nations in mainstream global affairs.* Vaishali Krishna is assistant professor at Centre for
