Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Puts Moscow’s Ties With Tehran In The Spotlight  

(New York, N.Y.) — The instability foisted upon Europe by Russia through its invasion of Ukraine raises concerns about Moscow’s role in the ongoing Iran nuclear talks, especially with Iranian negotiators refusing to directly meet with their U.S. counterparts. In addition to launching an unprovoked invasion of its neighbor last month, Russia showcased its close economic ties with the Iranian regime, raising questions about the wisdom of the U.S. and its European allies continuing to pursue an agreement within the present construct of talks.

Russia and Iran have openly expressed their desire to expand cooperation, especially in the arms and energy sectors. In support of that goal, Russia has joined its ally China in participating in Iranian sanctions busting schemes to smuggle crude oil and gas. Most recently, United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) identified the Russian-flagged crude oil tanker LINDA carrying sanctioned Iranian oil acquired in a covert ship-to-ship (STS) transfer in the Indian Ocean. Over the last year alone, the Iranian treasury has net billions of dollars from these smuggling operations to fund its malign activities. 

As Moscow becomes more isolated, it may assess that it is in its interest to further strengthen a U.S. adversary both economically and militarily. At the time of the expiration of the international arms embargo against Iran in October 2020, both Russia and China had expressed an interest in striking weapons deals with Tehran. 

Military cooperation between Russia and Iran extends into the realm of cyberwarfare, too. The allies have signed a cybersecurity and information technology cooperation agreement, which should come under greater scrutiny as the U.S. and Europe face an Iranian cyber espionage campaign while girding for a wave of retaliatory Russian cyberattacks. 

To read the UANI resource Tehran’s Ties with Beijing and Moscow, please click here. 

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