The relationship between Russia and Iran during Vladimir Putin’s presidency has evolved from a pragmatic partnership into a deep, multi-dimensional alignment, fundamentally reshaping the geopolitical landscape of Eurasia and the Middle East. While their cooperation was once limited and cautious, the convergence of their strategic interests—particularly in opposing Western hegemony—has forged an increasingly robust axis. This transformation, however, is not without its inherent limits and persistent undercurrents of suspicion, revealing a complex dynamic that is as much about necessity as it is about shared goals. As Iran takes the center spotlight in the media, let’s see how Russo-Iranian relations have changed since the rise of President Vladimir Putin.
The Foundation of a Post-Revolutionary Partnership
When Vladimir Putin first assumed the Russian presidency in 2000, relations with Iran were still emerging from the deep freeze of the Soviet era and the immediate aftermath of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. A landmark moment occurred in December 2000, when Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev arrived in Tehran for a three-day visit, the first by a Russian defence chief since the 1979 revolution . This visit was a direct signal of Moscow’s intent to re-engage with a significant regional power, coming just two months after Russia unilaterally scrapped a five-year agreement with the United States not to supply arms to Iran. For Tehran, cooperation with Moscow offered a practical means to resist American global influence, while for Russia, Iran represented both a lucrative market for its arms industry and a potential ally in a strategically vital region . This nascent rapprochement was further solidified in 2001 with the signing of a foundational treaty on mutual relations and cooperation, which, although limited in scope, established the formal framework for their bilateral ties for the next two decades .
Forging a Strategic Alignment Through Conflict
The character of the Russian-Iranian relationship shifted dramatically from the mid-2010s onward, driven by shared military and geopolitical challenges. The Syrian Civil War proved to be a crucial crucible for their cooperation. From 2015, when Russia launched its military intervention at the invitation of President Bashar al-Assad, it found itself fighting on the same side as Iran and its regional proxies. This coordination on the ground necessitated a level of military and political trust that had previously been absent, effectively transforming their tactical cooperation into a more sustained alignment . The 2018 withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) further isolated Iran and pushed it closer to Russia, while simultaneously, Russia’s own relations with the West were deteriorating .
The single most significant accelerator of the partnership, however, was the start of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The conflict created stimulated even more cooperation behind the scenes between Russia and Iran. The provision of Iranian Shahed drones and their localization/modification, which became a staple of Russia’s aerial campaign against Ukraine, marked a qualitative leap in their military-technical cooperation . This relationship soon became a two-way street, with reports of Russia offering Iran advanced military equipment and security cooperation in return . Crucially, the war also removed the primary obstacle that had long constrained deeper economic ties: the threat of US secondary sanctions. As Russian officials and businesses found themselves already under severe Western sanctions, the deterrent effect vanished, allowing for unprecedented levels of economic collaboration .
The 2025 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty
The culmination of this deepening integration was the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty by Presidents Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian in Moscow on January 17, 2025 . Replacing the 2001 agreement, this wide-ranging document was heralded by both sides as a “real breakthrough” that would cover cooperation in politics, security, trade, transport, energy, and culture for the next twenty years . On the surface, it appeared to cement the burgeoning anti-Western axis between two of the world’s most heavily sanctioned nations .
However, a closer examination of the treaty’s text reveals a more nuanced reality. Despite the fanfare, the agreement is notably not a mutual defence pact. Unlike a parallel treaty Russia signed with North Korea, it lacks any clause obligating one party to provide direct military assistance if the other is attacked . Instead, the security provisions are remarkably similar to those in the 2001 treaty, simply agreeing not to provide assistance to any aggressor and to continue military and technical cooperation . This suggests that while both nations are committed to a long-term alignment against the West, they remain cautious about being formally drawn into each other’s direct conflicts. The treaty effectively formalised the existing state of play rather than creating new, binding obligations, serving as a bureaucratic summary of the ties already forged since 2022.
And now, after a new war has started?
President Putin has made it very clear in recent public statements that he believes the Iranians are fully justified in their actions and they have been backed into a corner. Although some might hope that the Kremlin would back away, quite the opposite is now happening after the open aggression by the US and Israel.