What’ll Russia Do As Iran Burns…?
Almost two weeks ago, the fragile peace in Iran was shattered by the airstrikes jointly launched by Israel and the United States. Since then, the world has kept watching with bated breath as no one knows what will be the final outcome of this development. Will Iran, buffeted by missiles, bombs and other deadly “tools” of war, suddenly cower in submission and do the bidding of the US? Will the Islamic nation remain defiant, resolute and unperturbed as it continues to careen, in a manner of speaking, hither and thither by hail of missiles from the adversaries?
No doubt, this is a strange spectacle to behold. The war has thrown the world into apprehension. Human and economic losses are recorded and keep increasing on a daily basis. Iran is still standing but smouldering as threats, war cry and gung-ho zeal become the order of the day. And like a rattling snake in the throes of death Iran keeps spitting its venom around by attacking other gulf nations considered as US allies. Is this just a tip of the iceberg? Will the supposed Middle East war snowball into a third world war? Will Russsia, Iran’s ally, enter the fray? Will the war drag on and eventually wear off? Will it, with the involvement of other superpowers, spiral into global conflict?
While some pundits believe Iran is punching above its weight by remaining defiant others think US has turned itself into a bully that needs to be confronted and reined in. Yet the world is in a quandary. Meanwhile it is widely believed that the involvement of Russia could change the tempo of the war. But what exactly is Russia’s position on the war?
Russia’s position has been ambiguous since the beginning of the war to say the least. Although the European country, immediately after the attack on Iran, condemned the action by describing it, as “a preplanned and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent U.N. member state,” demanding an immediate halt to the military campaign and a return to diplomacy. Russia, however, came short of making its position known unequivocally by nailing its colours to the mast.
Why Russia’s Position?
One would have thought the decimation of Iranian military targets, assassination of Ali Khamenei, the country’s former Islamic leader would provoke Russia into joining the war. Not even the strategic partnership agreement Moscow signed with Iran last year appears to be any form of encouragement for Russian’s interference in the war.
Why the pussyfooting from Russia you may want to ask? From all indications, Russia’s hands are full too. Russia is still “dueling” with its neighbour, Ukraine. What the superpower thought would be a mere walk in the park has dragged on, entering the fourth year. Ukraine has remained unbowed despite Russia’s relentless attacks on the comparatively smaller nation. The Russia/Ukraine war must have cost the superpower a lot in terms of weaponry and financing. Russia is likely to have been drained to get involved in another fresh round of warfare.
Meanwhile, Iran is just one of many Russia’s allies attacked in recent years without the superpower lifting a finger in their defence. Asad regime in Syria was toppled followed by the capture of Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela. Both developments were orchestrated by the same country: US. Yet, nothing has been done by Russia.
From the look of things, Moscow may not come to Tehran’s aid to rescue it despite the Middle East nation’s supportive gesture of sending drones to Russia in the heat of the ongoing war against Ukraine. With previous positions of Russia on US’ war against its allies, it’s safe to predict that the apprehensive war could go to sleep with both eyes closed fearing no third world war.
