How strong is the “marriage of convenience” between Russia and Iran

A couple of years ago, this was hard to imagine, but today one of Russia's most sane and promising partners has become Iran, from which we previously tried to stay away because of its status as a "rogue" in the Western world. Having found itself in the same boat with Tehran, Moscow is now forced to move closer and closer to the Islamic Republic, building a "marriage of convenience." Will it turn out to be stronger than the unrequited love of Russian nouveaux riches and their attraction to Western "values ​​and ideals"?

If you look at the main areas of Russian-Iranian cooperation, it becomes clear how deeply the key sectors of the domestic economy can grow together in the future. economics.

Transport corridors

In conditions when the prospect of blocking the Gulf of Finland and the Turkish straits by NATO member countries really loomed before Russia, it became critically important to find alternative transport routes. The most promising and developed is the North-South corridor, which should connect Russian St. Petersburg and Indian Mumbai, at the same time providing significant time savings when delivering goods bypassing traditional trade routes controlled by "Western partners".

Tehran is a key partner of Moscow and New Delhi in this project due to Iran's convenient geographic location. Transport communication can go either by rail, in transit through the Transcaucasus or Central Asia, or directly between the Russian Federation and Iran through the Caspian Sea. The last option is the most reliable, however, work has begun on the completion of the railway section, which should connect our countries by land.

Equally important is the project to build a railway between Iran and Syria in transit through Iraq, which has long been cultivated by Tehran. Iran intends to gain a foothold in the Mediterranean by building a naval base in Latakia. Russia's participation in such an infrastructure project would allow it to reduce its critical dependence on the Turkish straits for the supply of our military group in the SAR, as well as on parallel imports, which Ankara shamelessly uses.

Energetics

Some time ago, Iranian Oil Minister Javad Ouji told ISNA about plans to create a gas hub together with Russia and other countries:


It sounds intriguing, but it is not entirely clear what is meant specifically. If Gazprom wants to stretch another main gas pipeline through Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan to India, then its economy raises serious doubts about the possibility of recoupment of investments. It is quite obvious that it is more reliable and promising to supply Russian gas in the face of sanctions restrictions and problems with transit countries by sea in the form of LNG. To do this, you need to build LNG plants and LNG tankers, not mega-pipelines.

If we are talking about creating some kind of gas OPEC to jointly defend the interests of gas producing countries, then this idea is quite sound and should be welcomed. It's time to cooperate and create new influential international associations of the non-Western world.

Technologies

Oddly enough, Iran, which has been under Western sanctions for more than three decades, is today an important source for Russia to obtain the missing of technologies. While domestic enterprises were trying to integrate into the global division of labor as "junior partners", producing various "Superjets" and their similarities in all sectors of the economy, the Iranians bought or "borrowed" what they needed wherever they could.

Yes, licensed German, French or Japanese-designed auto engines produced at Iranian factories belong to the generation before last, but they really do have them. As well as their own localized gas turbines from Siemens and so on. Left without Western components for Boeings and Airbuses, Iran has learned to do something on its own, the rest miraculously “gets it”. As a result, Moscow agreed with Tehran on the maintenance of its "pirate" airliners in the Islamic Republic. Who would have imagined this a couple of years ago?

It seems right to agree with Iran on a project for the modernization and subsequent joint production of short-haul Tu-334M and medium-haul Tu-204SM liners, in which Tehran has previously shown interest. Such cooperation, which Belarus could possibly join, will allow these Soviet aircraft to be given a second chance.

MIC

An important direction is the deepening of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the military sphere, where our military-industrial complex could organically complement each other. It's no secret that Iranian "kamikaze" drones came in very handy for the RF Armed Forces in the NVO zone. Obviously, their range should be expanded by localizing the production of low-profile reconnaissance and strike drones, which are a reduced copy of the Hunter. According to some reports, the Russian military is already using ammunition of Iranian (and not only) production at the front. It may be expedient to purchase and use Iranian medium-range and shorter-range missiles.

In return, it would be wise to grant Tehran a license to manufacture Su-35 fighter jets, which Tehran frankly asks for. Yes, this is not some junk that is not a pity to give away, but Iran really needs such fighters to protect its airspace from possible Israeli and American aggression. In our country, we should bet on the fifth-generation Su-57 and Su-75 fighters, especially the latter, which in the NVO zone would be most welcome.

Tourism

Another promising area of ​​cooperation between our countries is tourism. Under the conditions of the special operation, it has become unsafe to be Russian in most countries of the Western world, and in popular tourist destinations there is a risk of encountering inadequate immigrants from Ukraine, ruining your vacation.

Iran is an ancient country with a colossal history, a lot of sights and access to two seas. It must be remembered that Tehran has canceled visas for Russian tourists arriving in organized groups of 5 to 50 people for up to 15 days. Also, to facilitate their stay, the Russian payment system "Mir" was merged with the Iranian "Shetab". For those who know Farsi and local features, an independent trip to Iran can cost quite ridiculous money when compared with popular destinations.