Russia’s image as a reliable ally has suffered yet another blow as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes across Iran on Feb. 28, marking a fresh outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East.
So far, Moscow’s response to the U.S.–Israeli bombardment of hundreds of targets in Iran has been limited to diplomatic support for Tehran, even as U.S. President Donald Trump has openly called for a change of regime.
The latest development highlights Iran’s junior role in its partnership with unsteady Russia, while Moscow’s focus on the war in Ukraine leaves it little means to rush to Tehran’s aid.
Russia just gave them some brand new Su-35s, and Iran has furthermore been a crucial strategic supplier to Russia in the Ukraine war (which, by the way, is where Ukraine’s support for taking out Iranian leadership comes from - you can’t expect sympathy from the country that’s you’ve systematically been helping Russia fuck over). Iran was basically the most crucial “pariah state” ally that Russia had, and they’ve been effectively swept of the board as a strategic threat and military industrial power.