Search on Ifri.org

Frequent searches

Suggestions

The Russian-Iran Partnership in a Multipolar World

Studies
|
Date de publication
|
Référence taxonomie collections
Russie.Eurasie.Reports
Image de couverture de la publication
couv_rnr37_us_page_1.png
Accroche

The strengthening of the partnership between Russia and Iran depends on overlapping security interests; bilaterally, regionally and on the world stage.

Image principale
Iranian and Russian flags.
Iranian and Russian flags.
© Leonid Altman
Corps analyses

Tehran has pursued a regional policy program that is largely in line with Russia’s interests, whether these relate to Syria (from 2011), the Caucasus, Central Asia, or Afghanistan (since 1991).

This security dimension was already one of the foundations of the bilateral relationship in the post-Cold War-period. It has now appeared in regional dealings between Tehran and Moscow. In addition, the decline of US international predominance, which has been apparent since the 2000s, has allowed Russia and Iran to develop a shared ideological discourse in opposition to “Western values”.

Beyond this shared ideological basis, Tehran has developed a true “Realpolitik” whereby it relies on Russian foreign policy to relieve US pressure on Iran that is aimed at regime change or, at the very least, a change in the behavior of the Islamic Republic. In other words, in seeking to preserve intact the main ideological tenets of its regime, Tehran has added a new dimension to its relationship with Moscow.

Since 1991, this relationship has become a matter of survival for a regime that faces both popular opposition at home and external pressure from Washington: pressure that increased during the Trump administration of 2017-2021.

Clément Therme is an Associate Researcher at the European University Institute in Florence and an Associate Member of the Centre for Turkish, Ottoman, Balkan, and Central Asian Studies (CETOBAC) at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS).

 

This content is available in French: Le partenariat russo-iranien. Une entente conjoncturelle aux accents sécuritaires

 

 

Decoration

Available in:

ISBN / ISSN

979-10-373-0497-1

Share

Download the full analysis

This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.

The Russian-Iran Partnership in a Multipolar World

Decoration
Author(s)
Photo
Clément Therme

Clément THERME

Intitulé du poste

Associate Research Fellow, Turkey/Middle East Program, Ifri

Image principale
Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Türkiye
Turkey/Middle East Program
Accroche centre

Ifri's Turkey/Middle East Program aims to provide expertise on the trends and developments in politics, societies and economies across the region.

The programme has the following objectives:

  • Proposing a new approach towards the MENA region through an analysis of local, regional, and international dynamics with the potential to guide and influence new policies.
  • Highlighting the role of foreign powers which have traditionally been present in the region and analyzing the new role taken on by emerging countries ;
  • Anticipating new directions and outlooks in each country.
  • Interpreting risks and potentials and putting forward new templates for analysis.

The programme has built a dense network of researchers and experts who provide expertise on the MENA region and working together on a range of crosscutting themes.

Image principale

Indonesia and the Palestinian Cause

Date de publication
25 July 2025
Accroche

During his inaugural presidential speech on October 20, 2024, Indonesia’s incumbent president, Prabowo Subianto, iterated certain principles central to the philosophical foundation of the Indonesian nation. He noted Indonesia’s longstanding foreign policy of non-alignment or “bebas dan aktif” (free and active) and its aversion to military pacts.

Daniel PETERSON
Image principale

Middle Power Lawfare : South Africa, International Justice, and the Gaza Crisis

Date de publication
21 July 2025
Accroche

The intensification of violence in Gaza following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 Al Aqsa Flood attack and Israel’s military response prompted a broader reassessment of global diplomacy. Longstanding geopolitical alignments were disrupted, and questions about humanitarian obligations, institutional accountability, and the limits of state conduct returned to the centre of international debate.

Gustavo DE CARVALHO
Image principale

Adıyaman, the “Ownerless City”: Story of a Political Emancipation

Date de publication
11 July 2025
Accroche

Over the past two years, the city of Adıyaman has made headlines for two major reasons: first, its devastation by the earthquake of February 6, 2023, which struck between Turkey and Syria, and second, its significant political shift following the municipal elections of March 31, 2024. 

Giulia FOURNIER
Image principale

The Evolving Role of Nuclear Rhetoric in Iran’s Strategic Calculus

Date de publication
03 July 2025
Accroche

How has the Iranian strategic discourse about nuclear weapons and deterrence evolved? 

Page image credits
Iranian and Russian flags.
© Leonid Altman
Related Subjects

How can this study be cited?

Image de couverture de la publication
couv_rnr37_us_page_1.png
The Russian-Iran Partnership in a Multipolar World, from Ifri by
Copy
Image de couverture de la publication
couv_rnr37_us_page_1.png

The Russian-Iran Partnership in a Multipolar World