Short of money and with Russia … The legal argument has been rejected by almost the entire UN Security Council, with European allies of the United States saying the priority is to salvage a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear program. We use cookies or similar technologies on our website to analyze our traffic. However, it is noteworthy that both sides are pursuing the potential expansion of defense ties with caution: Iran has no intention of serving as a bargaining chip in the hands of Russia in its rivalry with the United States. If an agreement is reached with Iran on its nuclear program, the benefits will be much broader Follow Followed Unfollow However, seven years later, the deal was in tatters after the signing of the US-Russia Gore-Chernomyrdin arrangement. It is not the first time Russia and Iran are to conduct such exercises. Particularly given the recent speculations about differences arising between Tehran and Moscow in Syria, the announcement by Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi seemed to serve as a signal that bilateral ties are vital and unbreakable. Iran’s defense minister recently announced that Moscow has accepted Tehran’s conditions for a possible fighter jet deal. In a U.N. Security Council vote, Russia and China opposed extending the weapons ban, which is due to expire in October under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. After Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA last May, Iran seems to have further lost its faith in negotiating with the United States. Perhaps more importantly, Russian military cooperation with Iran could jump with the lifting of the UN arms embargo in 2020 under Resolution 2231, which endorses the nuclear deal. For the Islamic Republic, one … The Iran nuclear deal has opened up a window for China and Russia to revive their arms relationship with Iran. Indeed, it was within the framework of the 2015 agreement that Russia delivered its long-awaited S-300 defense systems. He also stated a month and a half ago, that Israel had refrained from selling weapons to Ukraine at the request of Russia, in exchange for halting an arms deal between Russia and Iran. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that Washington would prevent Iran from purchasing Chinese tanks and Russian air defense systems as the UN arms embargo expiration approaches. Contacts between Russians and Persians have a long history, extending back more than a millennium. The embargo on conventional arms shipments to Iran is set to expire next month after the United States failed to win support for a new UN resolution. Photo by Sergei Chirikov/Pool via REUTERS. Russia and Iran have created a durable alliance, according to Alexey Pushkov, a member of the upper house of the Russian legislature and close ally of President Vladimir Putin. Normal Russian military ties with Iran were only resumed after this partnership was terminated. But what makes the new Iran-Russia exercise stand out is the timing and the latest developments preceding it. Russia eyes Iranian arms deal after Lausanne. In a recently released comprehensive vision called the "Second Step of the Revolution," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei once again dismissed the idea of any talks with Washington. What explains Russia… There were known commercial exchanges as early as the 8th century AD between Persia and Russia. Iranian military officials announced Monday that they plan to purchase $8 billion worth of arms from Russia, the latest sign of growing economic and military ties between the two countries in the wake of the nuclear deal signed last year. Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan and other senior defense officials have spent the last two days in Moscow, presenting to the […] Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has in turn brought up the prospects of an Iranian withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as an option. The potential $10 billion arms deal between Iran and Russia is a direct challenge to the UNSC resolutions as Russia is talking about selling Iran offensive weapons." The Caspian Sea was the stage of similar war games in 2015 and 2017. Russia said Tuesday it will develop military cooperation with Tehran after a United Nations arms embargo on Iran expires next month, despite US efforts to block arms deals. “New opportunities will emerge in our cooperation with Iran after the special regime imposed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231 expires on October 18,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, told the Interfax news agency. The link to reset the password will be sent to your email address. Amid rising US pressure, Iran and Russia appear to be gearing toward forging closer military and defense ties. As such, in the 2000s, Iran imported even more Su-25 aircraft and purchased the Tor-M1 air defense systems to protect its vital government, military and nuclear sites against attack. With the current external pressure on Iran only mounting, Moscow remains the sole ally that Tehran can count on for arms supplies and military partnership. By Edward Browne. As part of a long-term military strategy to fortify its defenses against US threats, Iran is moving closer to Russia — with a vision entailing broader defense cooperation. Plus get access to seven years of our archives. Would an arms deal with Russia scupper Iran nuclear talks? The Persian Gulf is a theater where Russia can flex its muscles in a region where the United States has long been the lone foreign superpower. Such moves will likely be designed to poke the Trump administration in the eye after its brash moves to snap back all UN sanctions on Iran at the Security Council in September, and to manage expectations from Iran. In the 9th–11th century AD, there were repetitive military raids undertaken by the Rus' between 864 and 1041 on the Caspian Seashores of what are nowad… US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier this month that Washington would prevent Iran from purchasing Chinese tanks and Russian air defense systems as the UN arms embargo expiration approaches. 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Whenever Washington showed any reluctance to supply weapons the Iranians requested, the shah would place an … Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on Thursday that an extension of arms embargo on Iran will jeopardize efforts to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA. A post-2020 expansion in Iranian-Russian military cooperation would be a natural follow-on of a bilateral agreement in 2015 between the two sides to expand military ties, characterized by closer and more concrete cooperation. The Defense Post aims to publish a wide range of high-quality opinion and analysis from a diverse array of people – do you want to send us yours? These goals include finding a place on Russia’s side in Moscow’s rivalry with Washington, promoting “an aggressive defense strategy” and collaborating on regional security. To counter US pressure with greater strength, Iran is feeling the urge to deepen its military ties with Russia post-2020 by requesting further conventional arms, including Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets, Yakovlev Yak-130 light fighters, Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters, T-90 tanks and the Bastion mobile coastal defense missile system. Text size A A A. Yet a call for military preparedness could still be read between the lines. Indeed, Dmitry Shugayev, the director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, has stressed that Iran-Russia military relations could further expand after 2020, and has also expressed Russia's interest in cooperating with Iran on the stationing of a defense shield on the coasts of the Persian Gulf. Tehran is aware of this, and thus its main aim with the exercises is to entice a Russian willingness to establish broader defense ties. RUSSIA and Iran are due to renew a 20-year-old petrochemical and weapons deal as the two allies further secure ties, according to reports. Iranian officials announced Monday that Iran would spend another $8 billion on the purchase of Russian-made arms. Last week, the commander of the regular Iranian navy announced plans for an Iranian-Russian joint military exercise in the Persian Gulf. Dr. Majid Rafizadeh Friday 17 April 2015. Among those developments are the Artemis Trident 19 exercise jointly conducted by the United States, Britain and France in the Persian Gulf; the US decision to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization; Washington's push to entirely halt Iranian oil exports and Iran’s threats that it may shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a reciprocal measure; US efforts to boost its military presence in the Persian Gulf region, including Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where it has deployed F-35 fighter jets; and Saudi steps toward forging what has been referred to as an Arab NATO. Russia and Iran are in talks to seal a $10 billion arms deal that would see Moscow send tanks, artillery, aircraft and helicopters to Tehran, a senior Russian senator said Monday. Under a deal signed in 1989, Moscow agreed to deliver $5.1 billion in weapons to Tehran, including S-200VE air defense systems, MiG-29 and Su-24 fighter jets as well as Mi-17 helicopters. Iran may be interested in purchasing up to $10 billion in military hardware from Russia, a senior Russian official told reporters on November 14, according to TASS news agency. Would an arms deal with Russia scupper Iran nuclear talks? All rights reserved. Importantly, Iran has also sought to make use of Russian military know-how. These hi-tech metal monsters from Russia could bolster Iran defences from air and naval threats by the end of 2020, unless Iran is once again banned by … Russian officials are promoting the prospect of major arms sales to Iran after the Lausanne agreement, but any such deals … Among them is a possible arms deal, which is certain to draw objections from some countries. He said any agreements with Iran would have “nothing to do with the unlawful and illegal actions of the US administration, which is trying to intimidate the entire world.”. But beyond mere weapons imports, Iran wants military ties with Russia to also encompass long-term cooperation aligned with the Islamic Republic’s regional and geopolitical strategies. Russia acquiesced to Israeli requests and canceled certain arms sales to regimes that are antagonistic toward Israel, an adviser to the prime minister said this week, according to … The value of arms transfer agreements between the Iran and Russia ballooned from $300 million between 1998 and 2001 to $1.7 billion between 2002 and 2005. News Politics Under a deal signed in 1989, Moscow agreed to deliver $5.1 billion in weapons to Tehran, including S-200VE air defense systems, MiG-29 and Su-24 fighter jets as well as Mi-17 helicopters. Al-Monitor Staff | Iran-US tensions | Mar 9, 2021, Jared Szuba | Iran-US tensions | Mar 8, 2021, Al-Monitor Staff | Iran Deal | Mar 5, 2021, Al-Monitor Staff | Terrorism | Mar 5, 2021, Al-Monitor Staff | Human rights | Mar 5, 2021, Leila Alikarami | Women’s rights | Mar 8, 2021, Al-Monitor Staff | Sanctions | Mar 8, 2021. The remarks by Zakharova came two days after the U.S. was rebuked by the UN Security Council including the five European countries on the council. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Feb. 14, 2019. Moreover, Qasem Soleimani, the powerful commander of the Quds Force — the foreign operations branch of the IRGC — has also described talks with the United States under the current circumstances as "sheer surrender.". Russia Denies Report of Arms Deal with Iran A spokesman for Putin denies that the Russian President plans to offer Iran S-300 missile systems and another nuclear reactor. Sign up for the Week in Review newsletter. Although such cooperation is facing hurdles under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, the two are making efforts to bypass the existing limitations. In this vein, Khamenei has already called on Iranians to "make appropriate and proportionate arrangements against the enemy's military postures." You’re now subscribed to Al-Monitor. Russia is in talks with Iran over a $10 billion arms deal in which Moscow would provide advanced tanks, artillery systems, planes and helicopters to the Islamic republic. His remarks touched upon resisting economic, political and intelligence campaigns against Iran rather than necessarily a military confrontation. Here's what you can now access. They were interrupted by the Mongol invasions in the 13th and 14th centuries but started up again in the 15th century with the rise of the state of Muscovy. The history of arms deals between Moscow and Tehran stretches back to a time when Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was a close ally of the United States. 2 Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited these contracts but implemented them only in part as a result of disagreements with Tehran over the Soviet debt and Iran's financial problems. Trump pulled out of the deal with fanfare in 2018, but Pompeo argues that the United States is still a “participant” in the deal — with the right to impose sanctions for violations. The accord also paved the way for Iran’s hosting of Russian aircraft at its western Nojeh air base and agreement to allow Russian fighter jets, bombers and missiles to use Iranian airspace for operations in Syria, where the two countries have found a lot in common to work on together.