Executive Summary:
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on April 27 about the ongoing conflict in and around Iran. The visit highlighted the two states’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, signed in January 2025.
- Russia has reaped some economic benefits from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which raised oil demand and prices and caused the United States to ease sanctions on Russian oil already at sea. If Moscow shows robust military support for Iran, however, it risks damaging economic and diplomatic ties with other Gulf states.
- Russia is constrained from acting as a main mediator in the Iran conflict due to its war against Ukraine. The Iran conflict also endangers key trade corridors, including the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which links Russia and Iran via the Caucasus.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on April 27 to discuss the ongoing conflict in and around Iran (The Moscow Times; Interfax, April 27). Araghchi’s visit to Moscow highlighted the two states’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty—which Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed in January 2025—and raised questions about how Moscow benefits from the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran (President of Russia, April 21, 2025). During the meeting, Putin praised the Iranian people for “fighting for their independence and sovereignty” (President of Russia, April 27). Moscow aims to secure benefits from the Hormuz Strait crisis to gain additional leverage in negotiations on its war against Ukraine.