Head of Russian Security Council Arrives in Iran

Latest Developments

The secretary of Russia’s Security Council arrived in Tehran on August 5 as fears of an Iranian strike on Israel continued to grow. Sergei Shoigu, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was shown on the Russian Ministry of Defense-controlled Zvezda TV channel meeting Rear Adm. Ali Akbar Ahmadian, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander who serves as secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council. The channel reported that Shoigu would also meet with newly inaugurated Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Shoigu landed in Tehran less than a week after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh as the latter was visiting the Iranian capital for Pezeshkian’s inauguration ceremony. Russia said it “strongly condemned” Haniyeh’s killing, while Pezeshkian described Russia as a “valued strategic ally.” Military cooperation between the Moscow regime and the Islamic Republic has been significantly boosted over the last two years, following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In February, Reuters reported that Iran had delivered surface-to-surface ballistic missiles to Russia, while in June, the United States stated that Iran had sent the Russians “hundreds” of the attack drones that have previously been used to devastating effect in Ukraine since the February 2022 invasion.

Expert Analysis

“Putin’s goal is clear. He wants to reshape the new global order and undermine the West. To accomplish this strategy, he needs chaos in the Middle East, and Iran, as Russia’s proxy, is assisting. Shoigu’s goal in Tehran is to strengthen security relations so that Iran can escalate and Moscow can later blackmail the West into navigating negotiations through the Kremlin if they want to de-escalate the conflict.” — Ivana Stradner, FDD Research Fellow

“The partnership between Khamenei’s Islamic Republic and Putin’s Russia is deeply entrenched in their ideological opposition to the U.S.-centric international order. In light of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia perceives the emergence of a new theater in the Middle East as an opportunity to expand its influence in the region while simultaneously redirecting attention away from the Ukrainian front.” — Saeed Ghasseminejad, Senior Iran and Financial Economics Advisor

Shoigu Cultivates Military Relationship With Iran

According to the Moscow Times, “the visit to one of Russia’s key political allies underlines Shoigu’s continued significant role.” While serving as Russia’s defense minister — a post he was removed from during a major leadership shake-up orchestrated by Putin in May — Shoigu met with top Iranian leaders. On the fringes of last April’s summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization — whose members include Russia, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan — Shoigu and his Iranian counterpart discussed enhanced security ties, with Shoigu reportedly highlighting a significant increase in military contracts between Tehran and Moscow.

Responding to Shoigu’s current visit to Iran, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that Washington had no expectations that Moscow would play a positive role in reducing regional tensions. “We haven’t seen them play a productive role in this conflict since [the Hamas atrocities of] October 7. They have, for the most part, been absent. Certainly, we’ve seen them do nothing to urge any party to take de-escalatory steps,” Miller said.