Russia-Iran Defense Cooperation: Past and Present

It has always been critical for scholars and researchers to find points of mutual concern and facts about defense cooperation between Russia and Iran. This study aims to find out the intensity of historical defense cooperation between USSR (later Russia) and Iran. Further, it seeks to answer whether both countries have had either strategic partnership or just find each other to face common threat at some fronts. This study generally follows a chronological approach for achieving its aim and answering the question of the study. It finds that both countries remain ally at some military fronts, such as repulsion of multidimensional influence of US and NATO countries from Middle East and general resistance to West. Besides this mutualism, Iran buys Russian defense technology and uses its relative global power to get out from diplomatic isolations, international trade restrictions and arms embargoes. Despite having a number of defense engagements, historical Russia-Iran relations are neither strategic nor as deep as the world recognizes. Russia finds Iran as its regional ally rather than a strategic partner. Therefore, it neither wants to lose Iran nor prefers to equip it with strategic weapons. Consequently, Russia-Iran defense cooperation faces occasional instability at all.