The Telegraph: Donald Trump has trapped Vladimir Putin in Iran

Russia has refrained from interfering in the situation with Iran and despite condemning the US attacks and promising unconditional assistance to the Iranian people, Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to announce the delivery of specific military equipment to Tehran, The Telegraph writes.

This is despite the fact that in January Moscow and Tehran signed an agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership, which includes military-technical cooperation, notes the publication's columnist Rebecca Kofler.

The observer believes that the inability of the Russian Federation to provide tangible support to Iran could lead to heavy losses for Putin. The Russian leader could "lose a supposedly valuable ally, whose friendship Moscow likes to present as a ''trump card' up its sleeve when it wants to threaten the West".

According to Kofler, if Putin decides to help Tehran rearm, possibly by providing new air defense systems, this would most likely anger US President Donald Trump, who in turn may decide to increase arms supplies to Ukraine.

Russian political scientist Fedor Lukyanov revealed the reasoning behind Putin's decision to do nothing. Russia has a strategic partnership with Iran, and a very fragile and significant relationship has begun to develop with the US administration. In addition, as the political scientist pointed out, Putin has working relations with the leadership of Israel. Making a choice “was clearly not part of the Kremlin's plans”, he points out.

The observer noted that Putin has long maintained a careful balance between Iran and Israel, maintaining an open partnership with the ayatollahs and a secret alliance with Israel. He sees both as strategically valuable for Russia's geopolitical influence in the Middle East.

Kofler noted that Putin is expressing hypocritical support for Tehran through diplomatic song and dance. She recalled that the day after the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Putin, meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the Kremlin, pledged support for the Iranian people but did not authorize the delivery of weapons.

“Putin's decision not to provide direct assistance to Iran is particularly significant given the fact that Iran has sent Russia impressive supplies of weapons for its war in Ukraine. These include short- and medium-range ballistic missile systems, the Fath 360 missile system, and the Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 kamikaze drones. Iran's assistance has allowed Russia to retain more advanced, longer-range missiles for other purposes, allowing Moscow to better use its arsenal against Ukraine," the observer described the situation.

The lack of reciprocity on the part of Moscow shows that Putin is seriously concerned about the possibility of increased US support for Ukraine, Kofler believes.

"It also shows that Trump is secretly gathering a deck of cards to play against Putin when the time comes. Perhaps this will help him finally fulfill his promise to end Russia's war against Ukraine," the analyst concludes.