Latest news with #IranRussiaRelations
National Post
07-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Opinion: The retrenchment of Russian power and influence in the Middle East
Article content Stalin occupied Northern Iran during and after the Second World War. Then, shortly after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the Soviet Leadership attempted to extend an olive branch to the new anti-U.S. regime, only to be swiftly rebuffed by Ayatollah Khomeini who took a dim view of the U.S.S.R.'s invasion of Afghanistan and Soviet atheism. Article content Putin's Russia, horrified by its inability to counter U.S. actions in Iraq after the 2003 invasion realigned away from the West after 2007 and sought new partners in the region. Following the 'Arab Spring' of 2011, Russia and Iran gradually moved closer, first in supporting their mutual Syrian proxy, and increasingly following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Article content Iran sensed both a useful foe-turned-ally against the common threat of the U.S., and a commercial opportunity in supplying thousands of Shahed drones. More recent technology transfer has seen the creation of a factory in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan to build 6,000 drones by summer 2025. Iran has secured treasure — literally in the form of gold bars — amid much speculation about what else Russia is helping with, including its nuclear program. Article content But Russia's retrenchment in the region since 2024 has shown it can only service one priority — its campaign in Ukraine. Article content Despite the photo opportunities and grand words, the reality of Iranian, Russian, and now Chinese relations is purely transactional. China buys around 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports. Russia likely hopes to usurp this to offset the bargain basement prices China has paid for Russian oil since 2022, and Russia has sensed an opportunity to try to restart negotiations on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline to China. Article content President Trump has dismissed Russian diplomatic efforts in the Middle East telling Putin, 'mediate your own (conflict)' in a tacit reference to Trump's frustration over a lack of peace in Ukraine. Article content Given Arab unease with the U.S.' actions in Iran, China may seek to pursue its commercial and strategic interests in the region as with its brokering of the 2023 rapprochement between Iran and Saudi. Article content China still plays catch up, given the scale of U.S. military assets and diplomatic heft, but many ' Asia First ' defence hawks like Elbridge Colby doubt a long-term presence in the Middle East now the U.S. is largely energy independent. Article content Article content
Zawya
02-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Iranian firm offers to buy out minority shareholders at Russian Caspian port terminal
MOSCOW: Nasim Bahr Kish, an Iranian firm that holds a controlling stake in Russia's Astrakhan Port, has submitted an offer to acquire the remaining shares, including a 25% stake owned by the Russian state, the company's records showed on Tuesday. Astrakhan Port owns a sea terminal in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan. The move underscores Tehran's increasing involvement in Russia's export infrastructure as the two countries deepen economic ties under Western sanctions. The news was first reported by Russian newspaper Kommersant. The deal, worth approximately 437.5 million roubles ($5.6 million) would give the Iranian firm full control over one of the key Caspian Sea terminals, used for transshipping grain, metals, timber, and fertilizers. In the 2023/2024 agricultural season, the terminal handled around 275,000 metric tons of grain, but volumes dropped to 139,500 tons in the current season, with no shipments in May. The Caspian Sea is a traditional route for transporting Russian grain to Iran. Grain shipments through the route sharply declined in the second half of 2025 due to a temporary export ban on barley and corn imposed by Russia, but analysts expect a rebound in the 2025/2026 agricultural season, partly due to a crop decline in Iran this year. ($1 = 78.4455 roubles) (Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Olga Popova; Editing by David Evans)
LBCI
12-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Iran is preparing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit
Iran is preparing for a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran's government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani was quoted by Russia's state RIA news agency as saying on Monday. "Putin's trip to Tehran is currently being worked out, preparations are underway," Mohajerani was quoted as saying by RIA. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.
Zawya
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
Iran is preparing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit, Tehran says
Iran is preparing for a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran's government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani was quoted by Russia's state RIA news agency as saying on Monday. "Putin's trip to Tehran is currently being worked out, preparations are underway," Mohajerani was quoted as saying by RIA. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin. Putin held talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran in 2022, the Kremlin leader's first trip outside the former Soviet Union after he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24 of the same year. While Moscow has bought weapons from Iran for its war in Ukraine and signed a 20-year strategic partnership deal with Tehran earlier this year, their relationship since the 16th century, when Muscovy officially established relations with the Persian Empire, has at times been troubled. Iranian officials say that Moscow often talks tough but is wary of getting dragged into a major war in the Middle East, despite Russia's foray into Syria in 2015. Unlike some deals Russia has struck with other countries, the strategic partnership deal signed between Iran and Russia earlier this year did not include a mutual defence clause. (Reporting by Reuters Moscow Buro and by Guy Faulconbridge and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Al Arabiya
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Iran is preparing for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit, Tehran says
Iran is preparing for a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iran's government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani was quoted by Russia's state RIA news agency as saying on Monday. 'Putin's trip to Tehran is currently being worked out, preparations are underway,' Mohajerani was quoted as saying by RIA. There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin. Putin held talks with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iran in 2022, the Kremlin leader's first trip outside the former Soviet Union after he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24 of the same year. While Moscow has bought weapons from Iran for its war in Ukraine and signed a 20-year strategic partnership deal with Tehran earlier this year, their relationship since the 16th century, when Muscovy officially established relations with the Persian Empire, has at times been troubled. Iranian officials say that Moscow often talks tough but is wary of getting dragged into a major war in the Middle East, despite Russia's foray into Syria in 2015. Unlike some deals Russia has struck with other countries, the strategic partnership deal signed between Iran and Russia earlier this year did not include a mutual defense clause.
