The military dimension of the relationship between Iran and Russia is already substantial, but Tehran is now looking to deepen it further in the wake of the forty-day war with the United States, according to Foad Izadi, an associate professor at the University of Tehran.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Izadi described Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin as a moment where Iran intends to determine how much further Moscow is willing to go in supporting Tehran’s defense posture.
Izadi was direct in characterizing the scope and intention behind the St. Petersburg visit. “Iran–Russia military relations has been quite extensive,” he said, “and I think Iran is looking to see whether Iran can get more help from Russia in the war that has not finished. This is a ceasefire. We never know when Trump decides to attack Iran again.” He made clear that Tehran does not regard the current pause in hostilities as a resolution of the underlying conflict, and that preparations for the possibility of resumed fighting are shaping the agenda of Iran’s senior diplomats.
The professor identified air defense as the most urgent area in which Iran is seeking Russian assistance. During the forty-day conflict, American aircraft, including F-35 stealth jets, operated over Iranian territory at a scale that Tehran found deeply alarming. Izadi noted that Iran succeeded in downing a number of American aircraft during the war but acknowledged that the result did not match the scale of the incursion. Strengthening the country’s capacity to intercept and deter American air power, he said, is the central military ask.
Izadi also referenced what Russia demonstrated in Ukraine as directly relevant to Iran’s request. Russian forces proved capable of engaging F-35 aircraft in that conflict, and he argued that this record made Moscow the most credible partner from whom Iran could seek comparable systems. He further noted that once the United States observed F-35s being downed in Ukraine, the deployment of those aircraft in that theater was curtailed — a deterrent effect that Iran hopes to recreate over its own skies.
Araghchi’s visit to Russia came as the final stop on a regional tour that included Oman and Pakistan. In Islamabad, the foreign minister engaged with Pakistani officials who have played an active role in mediating diplomatic contacts between Iran and the United States. Izadi noted that updating allies and stakeholders on the state of those negotiations is a standard and necessary function of diplomatic engagement, and that the St. Petersburg stop served both that informational purpose and a more pointed strategic one.
