Putin can only offer "verbal support" to Iran, which is under attack from the US and Israel - media
Kyiv • UNN
Analysts claim that Putin can only offer verbal support to Iran after Ali Khamenei's death. Russia will not provide military assistance to Tehran, as the partnership agreement does not provide for mutual defense.
After the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, verbal support is all that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin can offer Iran after the death of Ali Khamenei. Le Monde writes about this with reference to analysts, reports UNN.
Verbal support is all that Vladimir Putin has been able to offer his allies: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro, and now Iranian Ali Khamenei. The Russian president watched them fall one by one without lifting a finger to protect them.
It is noted that in a letter of condolences sent on Sunday, March 1, to his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, the Russian president paid tribute to the late supreme leader, calling him "an outstanding statesman who made a huge personal contribution to the development of friendly ties between Russia and Iran and raising them to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership."
"While condemning 'the cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law,' Putin, however, avoided any mention of the United States in his letter, as he sought not to antagonize US President Donald Trump, on whom he relies for support for his goals in negotiations with Ukraine. At first glance, Russia's powerlessness reflects 'a strategic decline both regionally and globally.' In Syria, Venezuela, and through the loss of influence in resolving the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Moscow has proven its inability to protect its partners and influence outcomes. For example, in the summer of 2025, Donald Trump directly rejected Russia's offer to mediate in Iran. The very existence of these partnerships and Moscow's potential reaction are not factors that Washington considers, which clearly signals its view of Moscow's secondary strategic role," analysts note.
It is also indicated that Moscow does not consider any specific military assistance to Tehran. There are no obligations to do so, as the strategic partnership agreement signed with Iran in January 2025 does not contain a mutual defense clause.
We should be careful not to view the relationship between Russia and Iran as a binding alliance between states ready to help each other no matter what. It is rather about arrangements and practices of mutual assistance – for example, "Shahed" for technology.
Unable to intervene militarily to save the Iranian regime, Russia can continue to do what it has proven capable of: enabling the regime to save itself.
This means restrained but constant support aimed at strengthening the coercive capabilities of the Islamic Republic while maintaining plausible deniability.
Let us recall
Russia continues to refuse to support Iran, despite "boilerplate condemnations" of alleged aggression from the West, after the death of the country's supreme leader Ali Khamenei and several other high-ranking Iranian officials.