- October 10, 2024
- 4:52 pm
- Middle East
Deepening cooperation between Iran and Russia threatens to destabilize not only the Middle East, but also on a global scale. Russia, while participating in conflicts in Israel, Gaza and Iran, is less active than in Syria, but its influence is still noticeable. Iran plays the main role in destabilizing the region.
About this 24 Channel said political scientist Oleg Sahakyan.
Sahakyan also added that Russia, although not the main destabilizing factor, is involved in the conflict through support and cooperation with Iran, which acts as a key player in these conflicts.
The US is changing its attitude towards Russia
Previously, Russia avoided aggravating relations with Israel, adhering to a strategy of neutrality. This was due to the fact that Israel, despite its cooperation with the United States, maintained a soft pro-Russian position in some aspects. The United States had hoped that Russia's role in Syria and its ties with Iran and Israel could help stabilize the situation in the region. The American side hoped that the Russian presence would become a deterrent to the escalation of conflicts.
However, as political scientist Oleg Sahakyan noted, “these expectations were not met, and Putin began to increase the stakes in the region.”
Tension between Iran and Russia
“Of course, Iran is a fundamental problem, but Russia is further arming terrorist organizations and provoking escalatory steps. Even more decisively than is necessary for Iran. In this sense, there is additional tension between Iran and Russia.”
Russia began to actively intervene in Middle Eastern conflicts, supporting terrorist organizations and provoking escalations. Although Iran remains the main problem, Sahakyan emphasized that Russia is “additionally arming terrorists and acting more decisively than Iran needs.”
“These actions by Moscow are forcing the United States to reconsider its approach to Russia.”
According to Sahakyan, Western countries are beginning to understand that “Russia cannot be contained,” and that they can only act against it from a position of strength. However, despite this “slow change of vector from a policy of containment to coercion,” the West is not yet ready for decisive action.
Sahakyan also noted that in matters of understanding Russia, Western countries lag behind Ukraine and the Baltic countries, which have long come to the conclusion that
“Russia understands only the language of force.”
How should Israel respond?
Israel is in a difficult geopolitical situation, and its response to Russia's cooperation with Iran and its supporting groups, such as Hezbollah, must be measured but decisive.
- Strengthening cooperation with the US and Western allies. Israel must further strengthen its strategic cooperation with the US, NATO and other Western partners to create a powerful counterbalance to Russian influence in the region. It is also important to coordinate actions to prevent the supply of weapons and technology to terrorist organizations.
- Intelligence and counterintelligence. Israel should strengthen its intelligence activities, especially regarding Russian operations in the region. This will allow us to quickly respond to threats emanating from both Iran and Russian-backed groups such as Hezbollah and the Houthis in Yemen.
- Diplomatic pressure on Russia and Iran. Israel could more actively promote diplomatic initiatives in the international arena in order to bring the threats posed by the Russian-Iranian alliance to the UN or other forums for discussion. This will help enlist the support of the world community in the fight against terrorism and prevent the supply of weapons to terrorist groups.
Israel, with its rich experience in fighting terrorist organizations, must act decisively and strengthen its international position in the face of a growing threat.
