In 2024, Russian military experts made two visits to Iran as Tehran sought to strengthen its cooperation, coinciding with setbacks for its regional network amid conflict with Israel.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, emphasized the significance of these visits, stating to Digital, “Russian missile specialists don’t just appear out of the blue.”

Taleblu warned that these developments should raise concerns in both Washington and Jerusalem.

According to , senior missile and air defense experts traveled to Tehran in April and September 2024, during a period of heightened regional tensions between Iran and Israel following the Hamas attack.

Taleblu from FDD asserted that these visits demonstrate the futility of attempting to separate Russia and Iran for the United States.

The specifics of the discussions during these visits remain unclear. Nicholas Carl of the American Enterprise Institute pointed out that Iran is seeking increased air defense support from Russia, while Russia is acquiring Iranian drones and missiles for use in Ukraine. Experts like Carl suggest that Russia and Iran are increasingly collaborating to bolster each other and pursue their shared goal of diminishing U.S. influence.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cooperation between Russia and Iran has grown. Iran has provided Russia with drones and ammunition to counter Ukrainian resistance, while Iran purchased Russian fighter jets and helicopters in 2023.

Moscow and Tehran further solidified their partnership in January by signing a 20-year agreement, although it lacks a collective security component.

These revelations coincide with the Kremlin’s announcement that future Russia-U.S. talks will include discussions on Iran’s nuclear program. reported that Moscow agreed to assist the U.S. in these talks, although Kremlin officials neither confirmed nor denied this, stating only that it would be a topic of discussion.

Andrea Stricker, a nonproliferation expert at FDD, told Digital that entrusting Iran nuclear talks to Russia would be unwise.

Stricker added that Moscow’s close alliance with Iran gives it a vested interest in preventing Iran from fully dismantling its nuclear program. She stated that any diplomatic efforts led by Trump should insist on the complete, permanent, and verifiable nuclear disarmament of Iran.

During his first term, President Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 and reimposed stringent economic sanctions. The Biden administration initially considered re-engaging with Iran on the nuclear issue, but these discussions stalled due to Iran’s internal politics and its support for regional terror groups.

A halt to Iran’s nuclear program could potentially be an area of common ground for the U.S. and Russia.

Since returning to the White House, President Trump has aimed to improve relations with Russia, which were largely severed by the Biden administration following the invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. officials met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia last month and agreed to improve relations, expand economic ties, and ultimately end the war in Ukraine.