On March 11, 2026, Russia could have vetoed a UN resolution condemning Iran, its strategic partner, and chose to abstain. Meanwhile Russia nearly doubled its oil exports to Asia, filling the gap left by Iranian barrels. And Ukrainian crews were shooting down Iranian drones over the Gulf.
In June 2025, Iran fired a missile at a US base in Qatar, and the Gulf monarchies found themselves one step from a regional war. They condemned Israel's strikes, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman barred the US from using their bases against Iran. Now they are planning a joint missile defense system worth over $85 billion.
In April 2025, Washington sanctioned a Chinese company for supplying the Houthis with satellite images of ships in the Red Sea. Russia, too, reportedly passed them satellite data through Iran. Moscow's contacts with them go back to the early 2010s, when a Russian intelligence officer in Sana'a met Houthi representatives.
On June 13, 2025, Israel struck Iran's nuclear sites and killed top commanders, turning a long cold war into open conflict. Nine days later, the United States bombed Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. After the June 24 ceasefire, Iran's nuclear program is halted, but what comes next: new escalation, a real truce or regime change?
In December 2024, the Assad regime, which Russia had propped up since 2015, collapsed while Russian forces did nothing. Six months later, Washington and Brussels lifted sanctions, and Syria's new rulers are talking of peace with Israel. How did Moscow manage to lose its closest Arab ally?
On April 22, militants killed 26 people in the Kashmiri town of Pahalgam. Within days, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, and Pakistan suspended the Simla Agreement. Each side holds about 170 nuclear warheads, and Pakistan's defense minister has already spoken of using them.
In March 2023, a Hamas delegation visited Moscow, and months later Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Russia and Iran arm Hamas and other militants, while Iranian drones fly for Russia in Ukraine. Every flare-up in Gaza lifts oil prices, filling the war chests of Moscow and Tehran.