Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, describing them as “absolutely unprovoked” ahead of a meeting with Iran’s top diplomat, but so far has stopped short of more-concrete moves to assist Russia’s regional ally. The U.S. and Israeli strikes have underscored Putin’s declining capacity to influence events in the Middle East — once a key part of his foreign policy — with the fall of the Assad regime in Syria last year, Moscow’s cooler relations with Israel, and Putin’s failed effort to convince President Donald Trump that Russia could be a mediator in the Iran crisis.
In comments to military graduates, Putin said Washington’s involvement was dangerous and a sharp escalation. “Non-regional powers are also being drawn into the conflict,” he said, referring to the U.S. bombings. “All this is bringing the world to a very dangerous point.” The conflict has demonstrated the limits of Russia’s willingness to assist Iran militarily — after both sides signed a strategic agreement in January without a mutual defense clause. The treaty stipulated only that the two sides would not help any country that attacked the other, indicating Russia’s unwillingness to intervene in the Middle East while its military is stretched by the war in Ukraine, as well as Iran’s unwillingness to send troops to assist Russia’s war effort.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flew to Moscow to seek the support of a main ally, and his spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the expectation was that Russia would play an active role in the conflict between Tehran and Washington. But at the end of the day, beyond the condemnations of the U.S. and Israeli actions, the results of the trip were unclear. “The unprovoked aggression against Iran has no grounds and no justification whatsoever,” Putin said in public comments before his talks with Araghchi. “For our part, we are making efforts to assist the Iranian people.”
Araghchi thanked Putin for Russia’s condemnation of the attacks, describing the strikes as a “completely illegitimate” breach of international law. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sidestepped a question about whether Russia would be willing to offer arms to Iran, instead focusing on Moscow’s efforts to press a diplomatic solution. “It depends on what Iran needs,” he said. “We have offered our mediation efforts. This is concrete. We have stated our position. This is also a very important manifestation. This is a kind of support for the Iranian side.”
After the meeting with the Iranian foreign minister, Peskov said the situation remained “very tense,” but did not comment on whether Iran had sought military assistance. “Various issues were discussed, primarily in the context of possible prospects for a peaceful resolution,” he said. Iran has supported Russia in its war in Ukraine, first supplying self-detonating drones and then helping set up a Russian factory to produce them.
After the U.S. strikes on Iran, influential Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev called for Moscow to come to Iran’s assistance as well as mediate in peace talks — something Putin has offered to do several times since the war between Iran and Israel began. “It’s time for us to help Tehran with satellite intelligence data, air defense systems and missiles,” Malofeyev wrote, describing this as “a historic chance.”
In a comment before the strikes, Nicole Grajewski, a Russia-Iran expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, cautioned that it was too early to say that Russia wasn’t backing Iran, because support could come in many ways. “Behind the scenes, there may be forms of Russian involvement,” she said. “We saw this in October with air defenses. Support hasn’t only come in the form of hardware; intelligence sharing and technical assistance have bolstered Iran’s capabilities in subtle but equally consequential ways.”
Biblical Connections: It is important to note that, while Russian cannot help Iran militarily while they are still fighting Ukraine, Russia has not shied away from defending Iran in the public square. Their relationship is still very strong, as Ezekiel 38-39 predicted that it would be in the future.
PRAY: Pray that this chaos in the Middle East will settle down and peace will reign in the region.
