Russia says it will not abandon Iran as it faces Israeli retaliation

The Kremlin said it has no intention of abandoning Iran as it faces a long-awaited direct attack from Israel.

Iran is under pressure as its proxies, the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, are under heavy Israeli attack in Gaza and Lebanon, respectively. The Islamic Republic is also facing the prospect of a direct attack by Israel in retaliation for a missile attack launched against its regional rival earlier this month.

After helping Russia in its war against Ukraine, analysts have speculated that Iran is now seeking payback and support from Russia in its hour of need, although what form this might take is uncertain.

When asked by CNBC how Russia perceived the status of its relations with Iran amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and how it would balance its competing interests and alliances in the region – the Kremlin said it aimed to deepen its alliance with Tehran, come what may.

“We are developing cooperation with Iran in a number of areas. We intend to do this further,” Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told CNBC on Tuesday.

“This collaboration is in no way directed against third countries,” he insisted in emailed comments translated by Google. He did not directly answer whether Iran had asked Russia for support against Israel.

Russia is a close ally of Iran, but must carefully balance a range of military and economic partnerships in the wider Middle East. It is one of the few countries that has maintained good relations with Iran and Israel, despite their hostility, as well as with other key players in the region such as Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. Peskov told CNBC that Russia “maintains a dialogue with all parties involved in the conflict in the Middle East.”

Relations between Moscow and Tehran have certainly evolved since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Iran has reportedly supplied Russia with one-way attack drones and, more recently, short-range missiles for use against Ukraine in return of military technology and equipment from Moscow.

Both countries deny that there was any arms exchange during the war in Ukraine, but both have been heavily sanctioned by Western countries as a result.