The Russia – Iran Strategic Partnership in the Shadow of Ukraine’s War

Closer ties between Putin’s Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of security cooperation (voennoe sotrudnichestvo) has attracted significant attention from Western foreign policy-makers and academic scholars in recent years. Diplomatic isolation and commonly shared dissatisfaction with the long-established American hegemony has driven both countries into a pragmatic, stable and mutually beneficial rapprochement nearly a decade after a new chapter in their relationships was opened in 2012 (Ghadbeigy, 2017). By this time the return of Vladimir Putin to power was clearly interpreted as marking a watershed moment in Russian foreign policy doctrine and strategies that had long since been in vogue under the rule of Dmitriy Medvedev (Kozhanov, 2015).

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EU’s Last-Ditch Attempt to Revive Iran Nuclear Deal Bears Results

After the perceived April deadlock in the indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the United States under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) format, the EU has made a last-ditch effort to move the ball forward again, per an EU official. As one of the signatories, the EU is the only acceptable intermediary for Iran and the US after US President Trump pulled the plug on the deal in 2018, and the Iranians subsequently refused to hold direct talks with the Americans ever since. Since 2021, the JCPOA participants have attempted to revive the deal but diplomatic talks have stalled numerous times. In the talks, the prominent bone of contention revolves around which Iranian demands are within the scope of the JCPOA.

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The Stalling of Vienna Talks on Iran Nuclear Deal

On 13 June 2022, Rheinmetall, Germany’s leading company in the security technology and mobility segment, unveiled its’ latest main battle tank at the EUROSATORY international defence material exhibition in Paris. The new tank, which bears the name “Panther”, constitutes a product elaborated entirely by Rheinmetall and is introducing a new era in the field of land defence systems by posing new high standards in lethality, mobility, and survivability whilst being characterised as a game-changer for the battlefields of the future (Sprenger, Rheinmetall pitches Panther battle tank as heir to the Leopard, 2022).

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