This contrasts with how Tehran supplied large quantities of armed drones and ballistic missiles to Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Russia has long supplied Tehran with surveillance and repression technologies used to prevent domestic unrest.
This support may have contributed to the Islamic Republic’s ability to survive the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and many other top leaders—at least so far.
T. hese attacks may have been undertaken in hopes of giving some of America’s Middle East partners an incentive to press Washington and Israel to halt strikes on Iran so Tehran would stop targeting them.
This points to a larger tension: while Moscow and Tehran are both strongly anti-American, their interests are not fully aligned.
He would not want to provoke renewed large-scale US military support for Kyiv by appearing to obstruct Washington’s campaign against Tehran.
For Putin, the war’s advantages are real—but they are likely to diminish the longer it lasts. »