In what appears to be turning into a global confrontation, Iran’s potential attack on Israel and the expected Israeli retaliation has drawn in Russia. Long an ally of Iran, Putin has decided to stand with the Ayatollahs by sending advanced anti aircraft defense systems and other weapons to Iran in hopes that it keeps Israel from hitting the Islamic Republic.
What started out as a double elimination of top terror leaders last week has morphed into one of the most perilous moments in world history as the two biggest nuclear powers, the USA and Russia have now gotten directly involved on opposite sides.
Although there is a large Russian expat population in Israel, Russia is heavily reliant on Iranian drones in its war in Ukraine. Given this codependency, Russia sees its alliance with Iran as not just a strategic geopolitical must, but something akin to an existential necessity for the time being.
With this in mind, Putin dispatched his former Defense Minister and current secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, to Tehran in order to meet with senior regime officials. Shoigu told Iranian state media that Moscow is “ready for full cooperation with Iran on regional issues,” while Iranian commander Mohammad Bagheri — who was part of the Iranian delegation that welcomed Shoigu — noted the “deep, long term and strategic” relationship between Russia and Iran.
This is a bold move by Russia, which presents not only a problem for Israel, but for the USA as well. America rushing military hardware to the Middle East was once assumed to be an easy maneuver to bolster Israel’s defenses against an Iranian attack. This has now turned into a far more dangerous situation. It may also be the reason why both Egypt and Jordan have remained cool about joining an anti-Iranian coalition. Who would want to be on Putin’s bad side?
Russia’s involvement, Turkey’s threats, and Iran’s need to payback Israel are all flipping the current conflict into the ultimate global showdown.