Russia and Iran 'up the ante' after meeting in Turkmenistan

Vladimir Putin says he wants to create a "new world order" of Russia's allies after he met Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, in Turkmenistan.

As tensions escalate in the Middle East, the two leaders "hailed" their "growing economic ties and similar views on world affairs", said Reuters. It is an "entente viewed with concern by the United States".

What do we know about the meeting?

Putin and Pezeshkian met last week at a conference in Turkmenistan celebrating a local poet's 300th birthday – "not an obvious spot" for an international summit, said The Telegraph. It was thought to have been arranged at the last minute, and "a handful of central Asian leaders" confirmed their attendance, "possibly to add credibility".

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The Russian foreign ministry said it was the latest evidence that Russia-Iran relations are at an "all-time high", while Pezeshkian said the two countries' positions on global issues "are much closer than those of other states".

The meeting is another sign of the "axis of resistance expanding itself", military analyst Cedric Leighton told CNN. Russia and Iran have had "good relations" in recent years but "now they're upping the ante" and it won't be long before we see an agreement between the two countries with a more "formalised set up" – "an alliance of sorts".

How did we get here?

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Tehran and Moscow have grown closer, "building on a partnership forged in the civil war in Syria almost 10 years ago", said The Telegraph.

Iran has sent thousands of drones and short-range missiles to Russia and, according to US officials, built a drone factory there too. In return, Moscow has sent oil to Iran and provided technical know-how. It's rumoured that Putin has also sent fighter jets and missile defence systems Iran's way.

Although the Kremlin has hosted the Iran-backed Hamas and has blamed the West for the escalating conflict in the Middle East, "there is a feeling in Tehran" that Russia "still owes Iran". An unnamed professor at an Iranian university told the Telegraph that "our relationship with Putin resembles that of being friends with someone who never pays their share when you go out", and Iran's state media has criticised Putin for "maintaining his distance" from the Middle East crisis.

Some analysts believe that the conflict in the Middle East has done nothing for Iran-Russia relations, because Putin feels that the fighting between Israel and its neighbours distracts international attention from the war in Ukraine.

Tehran is "probably pressing Russia" for more advanced weapons, said the Financial Times, but Putin will "have to balance" his relationship with Iran against other partners in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who "would oppose" any such sales.

Will Russia react if Israel attacks Iran?

Analysts are divided over how Moscow might react to any escalation, said The Telegraph. The US-based Institute for the Study of War said that Putin and Pezeshkian have discussed how to respond to a "potential Israeli retaliation".

But any suggestion of Russian intervention "would be too much in terms of antagonising America and Israel", said Stephen Hall, an assistant professor of Russian politics at the University of Bath. Putin is "still desperately trying to keep Israel away from funding Ukraine".