Russia and Iran Have a Troubled History Despite their Current Alliance

FILE - In this photo released by the Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops travel in a plane from Rasht in northern Iran, to Kermanshah in western Iran, during a drill on Jan. 5, 2025. (Hossein Zohrevand/Tasnim News Agency via AP, File)

Asharq Al Awsat

06:45-17 January 2025 AD ـ 18 Rajab 1446 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

06:45-17 January 2025 AD ـ 18 Rajab 1446 AH

Russia and Iran Have a Troubled History Despite their Current Alliance

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his Iranian counterpart Friday for the signing of a broad pact between Moscow and Tehran.
The Kremlin says the “comprehensive strategic partnership” agreement between Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will take their cooperation to a new level.
The signing comes ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to broker peace in Ukraine and take a tougher stance on Iran.
What to know about the Russian-Iranian relationship:
Historic Rivals Become Allies
Russia and Iran fought wars in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the Russian Empire capturing broad territories in the Caucasus and the Caspian region previously controlled by Persian rulers. In the early 20th century, Russian troops occupied large parts of northern Iran, but the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution ended their presence. In World War II, the Soviet Union and Britain invaded Iran, which still evokes painful memories in Tehran.
Tensions ran high in the Cold War, when Tehran was a US ally under the Shah of Iran. After his ouster in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, leader Khomeini castigated the US as the “Great Satan,” and denounced the USSR as the “Lesser Satan.”
Russia-Iran ties warmed after the USSR's demise in 1991. Moscow became an important trade partner and a key supplier of weapons and high technologies to Iran, which faced isolation from sweeping international sanctions.
Russia built Iran’s first nuclear power plant in the port of Bushehr that became operational in 2013. The next year, Moscow signed a contract to build two more nuclear reactors.
Russia was part of the 2015 deal between Iran and six nuclear powers offering sanctions relief for Tehran in exchange for curbing its atomic program and opening it to broader international scrutiny. Moscow offered political support to Iran when the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement during Trump’s first term.
Allies In Syrian Civil War In Bolstering Assad
After a civil war in Syria erupted in 2011, Russia and Iran pooled efforts to shore up Bashar Assad's government against the Türkiye-backed opposition seeking his ouster. In 2015, Russia launched a military campaign in Syria, joining Iran and its proxies, that helped Assad re-establish control in most of the country.
With Moscow preoccupied with fighting in Ukraine, and Iran facing challenges from Israel, they failed to prevent a swift collapse of Assad’s rule last month after a lightning opposition offensive.
How Russia And Iran Cooperate
The West alleges that in 2022, Russia and Iran signed a $1.7 billion deal for Shahed drones after Putin sent troops into Ukraine, and the US also believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles, but neither Moscow nor Tehran ever acknowledged the actions.
Iranian leaders give strong political support to Putin, echoing his arguments for justifying the conflict.
Tehran likely hopes to secure financial and defense promises from Moscow for its tattered economy after the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal and amid increasing pressure in the Middle East.
Assad’s downfall was a major blow to Tehran's self-described “Axis of Resistance” in the region after Israel’s punishing offensives against two militant groups backed by Iran -– Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel attacked Iran directly twice, and Israeli officials claimed the raids took out Tehran's Russia-supplied S-300 air defense systems.
Iran wants Russian long-range air defense systems and other weapons. It has hoped to get Russia's advanced Su-35 fighter jets to upgrade its aging fleet hobbled by sanctions, but Moscow only provided a few Yak-130 trainer jets in 2023.
Trump's policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran heralds more trouble for Tehran. This month, he left open the possibility of the US preemptive airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but some officials increasingly suggest it could pursue atomic weapons.
Deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty covers all areas -– from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture. He dismissed any link with Trump’s inauguration, saying the signing was planned long ago.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described it as a “fully comprehensive treaty that takes into account all dimensions of the relationship, with a particularly strong economic aspect.”
He told state TV that while it covers defense and security cooperation, “this is a complete and comprehensive treaty, not one focused on a specific purpose, such as a military alliance.”
Healing Rifts, Lifting Suspicions
Despite the official rhetoric, the nations' troubled history makes many Iranians suspicious about Russia. Kremlin efforts to balance courting Tehran while staying friendly with Israel adds to the uneasiness.
There are signs of growing discontent about Russia within Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force answerable only to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Last week, an audio recording leaked in Iranian media with a Guard general blaming Russia for woes Iran suffered in Syria.

Israel’s Far-Right Ben-Gvir Seeks New Ground in Election

In this picture taken on October 20, 2026, a torn up election banner for Israel's national security minister's Itamar Ben Gvir far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party is displayed along the side of a highway outside Beit Shemesh in Israel's southern district. (AFP)

08:22-23 October 2026 AD ـ 12 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Israel’s Far-Right Ben-Gvir Seeks New Ground in Election

A turbo-charged election campaign by Israel's far-right national security minister has seen gun-shaped keychains distributed to high school students and a promotional video threatening to "put to death" a Palestinian inmate.

His policy pledges include encouraging Palestinians to leave the occupied West Bank and war-ravaged Gaza, as well as enforcing the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis.

Days ahead of polls which many Israelis consider crucial to deciding the future character of their country, the divisive influence of Itamar Ben-Gvir -- once considered a provocateur on Israel's extremist fringes -- shows no sign of dimming.

Polls show his Otzma Yehudit, or Jewish Power, party winning eight or nine seats in the 120-member parliament, making it the first time it will win a mandate running as a standalone entity.

In 2022, it was allocated six seats after running on a joint list with other far-right parties.

Ben-Gvir, who has been convicted at least eight times in Israeli courts before becoming minister, on charges including supporting a terror organization and incitement to racism, has become the firebrand face of Israel's far-right -- whose political clout has skyrocketed since joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition four years ago.

"In short, he speaks straight. We really love him," 23-year-old Or Nahman told AFP in Jerusalem's bustling Mahane Yehuda market, where a huge banner bearing Ben-Gvir's face hangs over shop stalls.

"We want to fight and vote for a person like this, who serves our ideology and the things we believe in, whether it's the Jewish character of the country, the victory of Israel, strong economic security, whether it's a country where everyone can walk here freely in their land without any fear of anyone," he added.

Nahman's friend, armed with an automatic weapon, smiled in agreement beside him.

As national security minister with responsibility over the police, Ben-Gvir has helped more than 200,000 Israelis gain access to firearms and boasts frequently about the worsening conditions for Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.

And he has used his place in the cabinet to push the government to take more maximalist positions in Israel's multi-front wars.

He proudly sports a lapel pin in the shape of a hangman's noose after spearheading a death penalty law tailored to apply to Palestinians, popping champagne upon its approval in parliament and celebrating his 50th birthday with a noose-adorned cake.

The lawyer-turned-politician was barred from serving in the military in his youth over his support for extremist right-wing groups.

Now, he says he will demand the defense minister post if Netanyahu's bloc wins again on October 27.

- 'Not a stupid man' -

The upcoming vote is expected to be close, with more than half a million young Israelis due to vote for the first time. Surveys show they overwhelmingly identify as center-right or right-wing.

A poll of 543 first-time voters published by Israeli outlet Ynet showed some 16 percent supporting either Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit or the far-right Religious Zionism party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

At a mock election event attended by Ben-Gvir and other candidates at a high school near Tel Aviv in September, Otzma Yehudit activists handed out gun-shaped keychains to students -- evoking his liberalization of gun licensing rules.

Footage shared by Ben-Gvir showed dozens of teenage boys dressed in black, cheering and waving the party's flag.

In the run-up to the vote, Ben-Gvir -- who lives in the radical West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba -- has campaigned in areas outside his traditional support base.

"When you behave like the boss, people respect you," he said at a recent event for English speakers in Tel Aviv, considered Israel's secular, liberal heartland.

Making a heart gesture after walking onto the stage to whistles and applause, Ben-Gvir boasted of demolishing Bedouin homes and cutting food for Palestinian detainees.

"They come in fat and they come out skinny," he bragged, smiling and making a joke about his own weight.

Ben-Gvir recently deleted a heavily criticized AI-generated video showing smiling Palestinians entering an Israeli prison on a conveyor belt, before exiting crying and emaciated.

In October, Israel's elections committee fined the minister over another video showing him confronting a convicted Hamas official in prison and saying he wanted to kill him, ruling that the footage was electoral propaganda.

His latest slew of AI videos included one showing an elderly Palestinian man sitting in the rubble of Gaza before a genie in the form of Ben-Gvir grants his wish to move to Paris. The French government rebuked the video and noted that Ben-Gvir is banned from France.

For punters at the Jerusalem market, the far-right seemed an appealing prospect, although some were concerned by Ben-Gvir's provocative stunts.

"He's too violent," said 42-year-old Shlomo from Ramat Gan, who previously voted for Netanyahu, but this year said he might cast his ballot for Smotrich.

"We need somebody like him," he said, but cautioned that Israel still needed to work with the rest of the world.

Michael, a 37-year-old from Jerusalem, agreed.

"I believe he's not a stupid man, but the fact is he says stupid things to get votes," he said. "It's very effective but it does a lot of damage to Israel's economy and diplomacy."

Features

How Are Ukraine Strikes, Middle East War Driving US Fuel Prices?

A truck is filled with diesel fuel at a gas station on October 16, 2026, in Bayonne, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)

08:14-23 October 2026 AD ـ 12 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

How Are Ukraine Strikes, Middle East War Driving US Fuel Prices?

A truck is filled with diesel fuel at a gas station on October 16, 2026, in Bayonne, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)

Ahead of next month's midterm US elections, Donald Trump has increasingly blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries for surging energy prices back home, which are causing the president political headaches.

However, analysts say the main driver of higher fuel prices remains the US-Iran war.

- Which Russian sites have been targeted? -

Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks on Russia's energy industry over the past 18 months, seeking to cut the Kremlin's revenues and undermine its ability to finance the war.

The strikes have targeted "mostly refineries", Julien Mathonniere, an economist at Energy Intelligence, told AFP.

On average, one Russian refinery was hit every three days during the first eight months of the year, according to the International Energy Agency.

"Russia's net diesel exports fell by approximately 80 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2026, from around 1.05 million barrels per day to just 200,000 barrels per day," said Viktor Kurilov, an analyst at Rystad Energy.

In response to the disruption in domestic fuel supplies, Moscow introduced a ban on diesel exports from July until the end of October.

- Why does this concern Trump? -

Trump has repeatedly condemned the attacks on Russian refineries, saying Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky disobeyed his orders to halt the strikes.

By contrast, Trump has not commented on the intensification in recent months of Russian strikes against Ukrainian territory, which have caused a surge in civilian casualties.

Trump's frustrations come as the Republicans face dim prospects in the November midterm elections, partly because of soaring fuel prices.

US diesel prices at the pump climbed to a record of $6.53 per gallon at the end of September, up from $3.75 per gallon before the war, according to the American Automobile Association.

Energy price rises are also fueling inflation across the economy.

- What is the Middle East role? -

Ukraine's strikes explain "about one-third of the global diesel shortfall, currently estimated at 1.7 to 1.8 million barrels per day", said Mathonniere.

But "the impact of previous drone strikes (by Kyiv) on global product prices before the Middle East crisis was minimal", James Henderson, a researcher at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told AFP.

Energy exports from the Gulf have plunged since US-Israeli strikes on Iran from February caused Tehran to respond by choking off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas transit.

At the same time, maritime freight costs have soared and major refining capacity in the Middle East has been hit, adding to upward pressure on oil prices.

- Can prices fall before midterms? -

Relations between Kyiv and Washington soured further this month after Trump announced a controversial agreement with Moscow to lift certain sanctions and allow Russian diesel imports, supposedly to ease prices.

The US president said Wednesday that he believed an end to the Russia-Ukraine war could be closer than ever, as the Kremlin said it was willing to restart trilateral talks with Kyiv and Washington next month.

For now, however, the strikes continue.

"There's not much that can be done in the very short term to lower diesel prices," said Jorge Leon, an analyst at Rystad Energy.

Even if the Russia conflict ended or an energy ceasefire was reached, the impact "wouldn't really move the needle massively for the US midterm elections", he added.

Repairs to damaged infrastructure take time, while continued hostilities in the Middle East drive energy prices higher.

Features

‘Generational Rage’: Young Europeans Fight to Be Heard

Demonstrators take part in a protest organized by student collectives and trade unions in Paris, France, October 22, 2026. (Reuters)

08:07-23 October 2026 AD ـ 12 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

‘Generational Rage’: Young Europeans Fight to Be Heard

Demonstrators take part in a protest organized by student collectives and trade unions in Paris, France, October 22, 2026. (Reuters)

From blockaded schools in Rome to tent camps in Madrid and street protests in France, young people across Europe are turning their anger on a political class they say is not listening.

Their demands vary, but they are united in wanting to make their often marginalized voices heard, sometimes even with radical methods in the face of heavy-handed policing.

"We are fighting and taking our future in our hands," said Damiano Fusa, 18, a student at Rome's Cavour high school, the first to be occupied in a wave of student takeovers that has spread across the Italian capital.

"We're not represented by anyone," Fusa told AFP, criticizing both Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard-right coalition and previous center-left governments for cutting education funding and ignoring young people's needs.

Hundreds of thousands of high school and university students have rallied in France, Italy, Spain and other European countries in recent weeks, with some protests descending into violence.

Governments have largely focused on restoring order, with France imposing partial curfews and Italy deploying soldiers, responses protesters say obscure their demands and could make things even worse.

"Politicians are responding in ways that are completely disconnected from reality, completely absurd," said Luis Marques, a 19-year-old psychology student in Lisbon.

Students are demanding action on soaring rents, more spending on education instead of defense and more job opportunities for young people.

But experts say the unrest reflects a broader sense among many young Europeans that they have been shut out of politics and sidelined.

"These young people do not just feel like they do not have a place in politics, they feel they are not being heard at all," said Geoffrey Pleyers, president of the International Sociological Association.

Rosario Forlenza, a professor at Rome's Luiss University, called it a "European generational revolt" rooted in a social and economic crisis "to which politicians cannot give a substantive response".

"Young people are a minority of the population that is shrinking and so their social, economic, cultural, political and electoral weight is becoming ever more irrelevant," he said.

- 'Inspiring other people' -

The anger has been particularly palpable in France and Italy, where fresh demonstrations are planned for Saturday.

"People are very angry, they've had enough. Working hard all day and still not being able to fill up their shopping cart," a 20-year-old student who gave his name as Eddy told AFP at a protest in Bordeaux last weekend.

"Will smashing everything change anything? I think it can be a jolt to wake up the politicians. We don't know what else to do to make ourselves heard. The ballot box? We don't believe in it anymore," he said.

Protest movements across Europe are increasingly drawing inspiration from one another, and even looking to youth-led movements further afield in places like Bangladesh, India and Nepal.

In Italy, one student slogan last week urged protesters to "do as in France", while shared symbols, including the Jolly Roger pirate flag, have become common across youth rallies.

Marcos Navarro, 22, a laboratory quality-control technician from Madrid, said protesters across Europe were meeting to share tactics.

"They've come to ask us: 'How did you do it? How do you organize yourselves?' We've already exchanged ideas," said Navarro, who has been camping with hundreds of others in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square since September to protest housing costs and evictions.

Ayla Herrero, a 26-year-old anthropologist helping at the camp's infirmary, said it was "inspiring for us to know that we're inspiring other people, that it doesn't just stay here".

- 'Not acceptable' -

Concern about the rise in military spending in Europe following the Russian invasion of Ukraine has also been a rallying point.

Nikos Mavroudis, a 17-year-old high school student in Athens' Exarchia neighborhood, said the money could be better spent on his school, where chunks of plaster are falling.

"It's not acceptable for classrooms to be dangerous," said Mavroudis, who hopes to become a cook and plans to move elsewhere in Europe to "countries where things are better".

At Rome's occupied Morgagni high school, where students have barricaded entrances with desks, protesters pointed to the crumbling infrastructure as evidence of neglect.

An 18-year-old, who did not want to be named, said the media and politicians in Italy were focusing too heavily on looting and vandalism by some protesters.

"It turns hatred against the students who are victims of this system," he said.

Asked about the violence, Sabrina Brizzola, 24, coordinator of the Italian University Students' Union, said organizations like hers should "organize and channel this generational rage".

"We have shared concerns, even if our ways of protesting differ," she said.

Russia and Iran Have a Troubled History Despite their Current Alliance

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