The Russian navy announced this week that it would be conducting joint naval exercises with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s navy. They will also be joined by warships from the Chinese navy.
This is the 2nd such naval drill with Russia in a year, and comes days after the Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi, called for “permanent and strategic” cooperation with Russia to counter U.S. influence.
Since President Biden was inaugurated, he has attempted to re-enter negotiations with Iran, hoping to re-establish a deal which would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The Trump administration pulled out of the previous deal with Iran, citing its favorability to Iran.
Whilst Iran has publicly expressed some interest in renegotiating a deal, experts believe that the Iranian government is unlikely to sign any deal that does not involve significant financial and strategic incentives, as they do not trust the U.S. to stick to any signed agreement.
Some Iran experts have also suggested that as its nuclear weapons programme is now well advanced, the Iranian state is simply playing for time whilst it finishes developing its capabilities.