Opinion | As attacks on Iran show, Russia can now do very little for its allies

Moscow’s credibility is sinking after it failed to stand up for allies in Iran, Syria and Armenia

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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin attends a plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 20. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:30am, 30 Jun 2025

The recent war between Iran and Israel has laid bare a truth long obscured by Kremlin bluster: Russia is no longer a superpower. Moscow’s muted response to Tehran’s plight is not an anomaly but the latest – and perhaps most telling – chapter in a pattern of strategic neglect that stretches from the Middle East to the Levant and South Caucasus.

Driven by President Vladimir Putin’s neo-imperialist fantasies, Russia plunged into Ukraine to find itself in a quagmire that has bled its military, hollowed its treasury and crippled its credibility as a reliable partner.

For years, Russia and Iran forged an unholy alliance, a marriage of convenience cemented by a shared animus towards the West and an appetite for defying the American-led order. The bond deepened with Iran’s supplying of Shahed-136 drones and ballistic missiles – tools of terror that rained destruction on Ukrainian cities, enabling Putin’s savage campaign to grind on.

In January, both sides solemnised their pact with a 20-year strategic partnership agreement, trumpeting a united front against Western hegemony. Trade between the two countries, both heavily sanctioned by the West, grew by 16 per cent to US$4.8 billion last year. Energy agreements have bound their fates even more tightly.

When Iran was exposed as a paper tiger by Israel, Moscow was expected to leap to its defence. Instead, Putin presented himself as a neutral mediator, offering to help broker a peace deal.

No missiles were dispatched. No air-defence systems delivered. No red lines drawn. Moscow offered only platitudes. Even after the United States bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, the best the Russians could come up with was a verbal condemnation.

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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Moscow’s credibility is sinking after it failed to stand up for allies in Iran, Syria and Armenia

Moscow’s credibility is sinking after it failed to stand up for allies in Iran, Syria and Armenia