The US Does Not Like Russia and Iran’s Closeness

During the course of Vladimir Putin’s official visit to Tehran, Russia and Iran managed to come to an accord on a number of important negotiations. The presidents of Russia and Iran discussed the war on terror as well as U.S. policy, which the Iranian side calls a security threat. According to experts, allied relations between Moscow and Tehran will hardly meet with Washington’s approval.

First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov announced that Moscow has officially agreed to provide a $5 billion line of credit to Iran. According to Shuvalov, these funds will be used for the electrification of railways and for the construction of thermal power stations in Iran.

As we all remember, negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian colleague Hassan Rouhani took place in Iran’s capital after both leaders took part in the Gas Exporting Countries Forum. During the course of the meeting with Iranian leaders, Putin indicated that “The EEU* will begin studying possibilities of creating a free trade zone with Iran. Additionally, Russia and Iran signed a transnational agreement regarding the easing of visa regulations for certain categories of citizens of the two countries.

The Americans’ Plan Constitutes a Threat, Especially for Russia and Iran

Vladimir Putin also noted that he discussed not only economic issues with Iran, but also questions related to the international agenda of combating terrorism. “We exchanged opinions on the situation in Syria,” Putin said. “Regarding the actions of our military, it’s a very difficult operation that involves a large group of geographic positioning satellites as well as a diverse and complex air force: strike aircraft, bombers, strategic heavy bombers, and missiles which cover the fighter jets. There are two groups of fleets, one in the Caspian Sea and another in the Mediterranean, including the strike bombers which carry out strikes from maritime positions on the Caspian Sea.” In Putin’s opinion, without Iran’s support, this kind of an operation would be impossible. He emphasized that “of course, all of this is carried out with the agreement of our Iranian partners.”

Russia will continue “coordination [with Iran] in the fight against terrorism. We will strengthen our coordinated efforts within the framework of the international coalition in support of Syria, which includes the successful launch of comprehensive inter-Syrian political processes,” Putin announced. He reiterated that “there is no other possibility for providing a long-term solution to the conflict in Syria other than political negotiations.”

As we all recall, on Friday Putin called on the Russian military involved in Syria, asking it not to reduce its high level of commitment to the operation. The Russian minister of defense, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, reported to the commander in chief that the number of Russian Air Force units taking part in the anti-terrorist operation in Syria has been doubled.

The outcome of the discussions was hailed by Rouhani: “As was shown today through the signing of the bilateral agreement by the leaders of our countries, Iran’s relations continue to develop and will bring about a new era.” According to the Iranian president, the two sides undertook the decision to increase cooperation on regional issues, in particular regarding the fight against terrorism. “Today, terrorism constitutes a dangerous challenge for the countries in the region, and indeed for the whole world,” Rouhani said. Additionally, Iran “is prepared to bring about multilateral projects in the field of energy, the export of gas, and also in other areas of industry and economy,” he added.

Upon arriving in Iran, Putin also met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the first time in eight years. According to the president’s press secretary, Dmitri Peskov, via Interfax, the meeting was of a “very constructive” nature. During the course of the conversation, Khamenei stressed the necessity of strengthening Russo-Iranian relations. He said, “The Americans have a long-term plot and are trying to dominate Syria and then the whole region… This is a threat to all countries, especially Russia and Iran.” He added that “the United States is now trying to achieve its failed military objectives in Syria by political means,” referencing the peace talks meant to settle the conflict in Syria, as reported by Al-Jazeera.

During the course of the meeting, both leaders emphasized that Moscow and Tehran share the same view “regarding the inadmissibility of externally dictating different modes of political settlement for the situation in Syria,” Peskov noted. Khamenei praised Putin for “neutralizing Washington’s plots,” and noted that economic relations between the two countries continue to “expand beyond the current level.”

The Search for Hints of Disagreement

Meanwhile, the governments of Western countries are searching for the slightest hint of conflict between Russia and Iran regarding the future of Bashar Assad. During the meeting in Vienna following the terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut, the leaders of world powers including Russia, the U.S., and countries from Europe and the Middle East, came to an agreement regarding resolving the political situation in Syria, and decided that elections would be held in two years. However, disagreement remained regarding key issues, such as the future of Assad. This is often pointed out as a source of contention.

The Wall Street Journal has further expanded the alleged conflict between Russia and Iran. According to the publication’s analysis, after the sanctions on Iran have been completely removed, Iran will compete with Russia in the energy (gas) sector. Iran already wants to start exporting to Europe, where Russia currently dominates the market. The publication points out that over the course of many years, Iran hopes to build gas pipelines across Syria and through the Mediterranean Sea, while European countries are contemporaneously looking to reduce their dependence on Russia.

The Wall Street Journal’s sources insist that when the war has been resolved, both countries — Russia and Iran — will be able to compete for political and economic influence in Syria. Nikolay Korzhanov, a former Russian diplomat in Tehran and non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said, “They will be cooperating until the battles stop, then the rivalry will begin.”

“There are differences (between Iran and Russia),” says Olivier Decottignies, a French diplomat and visiting scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “The Russians aren’t looking for the same projection of power.”

The Wall Street Journal’s sources suggest that Moscow aims to use the Syrian refugee crisis as a means of leverage over Europe. According to them, the U.S. and the European Union have made significant concessions to Putin — for example, the easing of economic sanctions that were placed on Russia last year after the annexation of Crimea, in order to force Moscow to stop supporting Assad. “If we make concessions on Ukraine, we could probably have the head of Assad,” said Fabrice Balanche, a Middle East specialist at the University of Lyon. “But the Iranians will never agree.”

“Closeness between Russia and Iran may amount to a short-term alliance of convenience. Tehran’s political goals in the broader Middle East and its economic ambitions in the international energy market in many cases diverge from Moscow’s interests.”

’Russia Can Count on the Support of Many Nations’

At the summit, Putin also met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “I want to express my support for all of your actions taken for stabilizing the situation in the Middle East, and indeed in the whole world,” said the Venezuelan leader. He added, “Russia can count on the support of many nations when it comes to bringing peace to the world. This requires a great deal of courage on your part as president, and for that I thank you.”

Putin also discussed military-technology cooperation with his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales, in Tehran. “Our country is one of the greatest producers of gas, and our reserves are good. The company Gazprom already works in your country and in my opinion is already planning next year’s production output,” Putin said. He added that “Not only Gazprom, but other companies are ready for cooperation with Bolivia. There is interest in the fields of power engineering, mechanical engineering, and in other high-tech spheres. We are ready to work with you for military-technology cooperation.” Morales himself emphasized interest in cooperation with Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation when he discussed plans to build the country’s largest nuclear power generator. According to the website Kremlin.ru, for this project, Russia would provide the necessary technology, while Bolivia would provide an investment of $300 million.

Additionally, Bolivia Chancellor David Choquehuanca announced that Putin promised to study Bolivia’s territorial claim on Chile in order to offer the possibility of opening a dialogue with Chile regarding this. “[The Russians] don’t have a lot of information, they need more data, and President Putin said that they will study [the issue], and if they can do anything, they will, to start talks with Chile,” he said. Bolivia demands that Chile gives it access to the ocean.

GECF, which stands as a parallel organization to that of the association for oil exporting countries, OPEC, brings together countries that are world leaders in exporting natural gas (in total, together about 45 percent of the world’s exported gas). The members of GECF are Russia, Algeria, Bolivia, Venezuela, Egypt, Iran, Qatar, Libya, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, Trinidad and Tobago, and Equatorial Guinea. Additionally, six countries are observers: Oman, the Netherlands, Peru, Norway, Kazakhstan and Iraq, as outlined by RIA Novosti.

’Fast-Developing Relations’

Azkhdar Kurtov, chief editor of the journal National Strategy Issues published by the Russian Institute for Strategic International Studies, noted in an interview with Vzglad that Russia and Iran don’t have any sort of serious conflict, and that bilateral relations are quickly developing. This source emphasized that Putin’s visit to Iran must be divided into two parts: participation in the gas/energy forum, and his meeting with Iranian leaders.

“The forum for gas exporting countries was considered as a structure on which the founders tried to create a sort of ‘OPEC for gas.’ However, this did not occur for a variety of reasons. Within the organization, no important decisions were made. And now, I don’t see any kind of breakthrough negotiations occurring,” Kurtov said.

He emphasized that “Russia and Iran have a defined rivalry, but it’s not based on something fundamental in nature. Iran supports radical Shiite groups, for example Hezbollah. Russia does not support this and wants to avoid taking a similar line. Moscow tries with all its might to protect itself from this. However, we stand in solidarity with Iran on the main issues: the necessity of forming a wide anti-terrorist coalition against [the Islamic State group].”

“A Huge Number of Shared Interests”

Experts have emphatically stated that relations between Iran and Russia are making substantial headway, and the U.S. is not happy about this. One expert concludes, “Russia and Iran are independent centers of power. Of course, Washington does not like this. They don’t like the sovereign and independent policies of the two countries. Furthermore, Russia and Iran are neighbors; historically, we had a common border in fact. We have a huge number of shared interests related to security in the near and Middle East. All and all, I wholeheartedly value the dynamics of our relationship.”

Our source did not agree with American analysts that Iran will become Russia’s main rival in the gas industry after sanctions are lifted. Moreover, experts from the U.S. predict that as soon as the conflict in Syria is over, Moscow and Tehran will began competing for political and economic influence in the region.

“The thing is, Iran’s territory was rich in natural gas reserves long before the Syrian crisis. Iran is second in the world in terms of natural gas reserves. Historically, the problem has been that Iran’s main export product has been oil, a large portion of which goes to Asia. Iran’s level of gas exports is very low. Many people don’t know that Iran in fact exported gas even to the USSR,” the expert noted.

’The Supreme Leader Leads Iran and He Supports Close Relations with Russia’

Political scientist Igor Pankratenko, an Iran specialist, noted in an interview with Vzglad that on the whole, Russia and Iran’s relations are developing successfully. However, all issues involved in the bilateral relationship cannot be resolved with simply one visit.

The issue of Syria was one of the most pressing during the course of Putin’s discussions with Iran’s leader. According to Pankratenko, “The Russian and Iranian positions on Syria are identical — except, to put it succinctly, when Vladimir Putin and Ali Khamenei discussed the future of Bashar al-Assad. Moscow believes that if it becomes clear that Bashar al-Assad’s exit from leadership is necessary for the political settlement, than it simply must be done. Iran is categorically against this.”

“On all the other issues, there was close cooperation and understanding. Both Moscow and Tehran want to preserve the integrity of the Syrian government. Neither side discussed the future format of the Syrian government. It is simply not possible to resolve all of the issues that had been building up with just one visit,” Pankretenko said.

Pankretenko noted that on the whole, the leadership of Iran could be divided into two different groups regarding each group’s approach to Russia. Iran is led by the Supreme Leader and those connected with the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution; they stand firmly on their position regarding developing relations with Russia. “The first level is the highest, and the second is the executive. The first level is made up of the Supreme Leader, his cabinet and the Army of the Guards of the Islamic Revolution. The executive level is the president of Iran and his cabinet of ministers,” Pankretenko insisted.

“Regarding these relations, the U.S. media is correct in saying that there is a part of the political leadership in Iran that does not want to further develop relations with Russia. However, this applies to the executive level: President Hassan Rouhani, the Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, and other members of the presidential cabinet. This is their position and they openly propagandize based on it. This political group of the Iranian government says that right now, Tehran is developing closer relations with the U.S. and the West, and should continue along this direction.” Pankretenko said. “Of course,” Pankretenko added, “they aren’t exactly telling the whole story.”

*Editor’s note: The EEU is an abbreviation for the Eurasian Economic Union.