Putin Urges Iran to Exercise Restraint

Latest Developments

The Secretary of Russia’s National Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, reportedly conveyed a personal message from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Iranian leaders while he was in Tehran on August 5. The message urged the regime to refrain from taking military action against Israel. According to an unnamed Iranian diplomat, “Russia strongly and officially condemns any military action by Iran and its allies against Israel,” citing specifically the presence of hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens who live in the Jewish state. “If civilians in Israel are endangered, Russian citizens who live in that country may also be harmed,” the diplomat said. Putin allegedly offered to mediate between Iran and Israel and urged the Islamic Republic to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

Expert Analysis

“On the one hand, Putin relies on Iran for drone production and sanctions evasion cooperation and may not want to jeopardize his supply lines. On the other hand, Putin appears fully committed to deepening military support for Iran and might not want to be held accountable by Israel for an attack — either in Syria or via Ukraine. This could just be an info-op.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

“Russia and Iran want to escalate the crisis in the Middle East so Putin can position himself as a mediator and blackmail the West. His game plan: if the West doesn’t want a conflict to spiral out of control, it will have to negotiate with Moscow. It’s past time for policymakers to read through the Kremlin’s deceptive games.” — Ivana Stradner, FDD Research Fellow

Shoigu’s Visit to Iran

Shoigu, a close ally of Putin, arrived in Tehran on August 5 as fears of an Iranian strike on Israel continued to grow. The Russian Ministry of Defense-controlled Zvezda TV channel showed Shoigu 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.

Responding to Shoigu’s 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.

Russia-Iran Alliance

Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Tehran has provided thousands of drones to Moscow while seeking advanced military equipment in return. 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 been used to devastating effect in Ukraine since February 2022.

Moscow and Tehran are also deepening their partnership outside of the military domain. In December 2023, Putin hailed Russia-Iran cooperation in the energy, business, agricultural, and knowledge-based sectors, following increased economic cooperation between Moscow and Tehran to evade Western sanctions.