Iran, Russia deepening win-win engagement

Iran, Russia deepening win-win engagement

Tehran, March 26, IRNA -- The ninth meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, will be another sign that the two regional powers have to engage more to safeguard mutual interests and restore peace and security to the region.

The 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran saw the nation stepping out of the sphere of influence of the big powers and starting to become a key regional player.

'Iran's 1979 revolution was meant, among other things, to restore the country’s sovereignty against great powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom, and to stand up to the atheist Soviet Union,” says Dmitri Trenin Director of the Carnegie Moscow center.

Historically neutral nation, the Islamic Republic of Iran soon assumed a role as a vital player in the region, while the country and its Islamic Revolution already served to be a role model for all the freedom-seekers across the region and globe to stand against autocratic powers.

As an Islamic nation, Iran from the outset has remained to herald regional cooperation to address regional issues.

Iran’s advisory involvement in Iraq after the fall of the Saddam’s regime and the role it currently plays in Syria alongside with other regional nations, Including Russia, Iraq and Turkey, well demonstrate Tehran’s determination to deal with regional problems by relying on regional cooperation and stopping foreign interventions.

Russia, contrary to the past and during the Soviet era, has proven to be a reliable partner for the Islamic Republic and from a strategic point of view the two nations have spared no efforts to promote mutual interests by enhancing high-level broad ties.

“In contrast to the past, Russia now is no longer an uninvited imperial power, but a welcome strategic partner,” argues Trenin.

Iran’s friendship with Russia, as some argue, is not going to solely mean that like the days of the Cold War era, Tehran have decided to side with Moscow to join the anti-American anti-Western front to enjoy the baking of the big brother Moscow.

“The Iranians see - in Russian power, in Putin's posturing, in what the Russians have been able to deliver in Syria - a strategic depth that's going to protect them against American pressure,” says Vali Nasr, the dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

It goes without saying that Iran is a vast resourceful nation given its size, population and energy wealth, it is bound to be a significant country.

After the implementation of the nuclear deal between the country and the world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the lifting of Western-imposed sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran is reestablishing ties with other countries and reengaging itself with the global community.

'There is a new relationship based on a new understanding of Iran’s pivotal role in the region,' says Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics.

Gerges believes that as a key regional nation, Iran can play a positive role in stabilizing the region and 'help put out the fires'.

Iran's attractions are both political and economic: a country that is 'a potential regional superpower, and an emerging market with huge potential', he says.

Russia is among world powers that has understood the significance of the Islamic Republic, both in the region and at a global level, and as Moscow is moving towards developing ties with the Middle Eastern nations, Iran tends to serve Russia as a regional gateway.

“As Moscow reenters the Middle East after a quarter-century break, it understands the importance of Iran, one of the most important countries along Russia’s southern periphery,” Trenin says.

Tehran and Moscow, over the past several years, have been cooperating on a wide range of bilateral, regional, and international issues involving trade, energy, and security, a trend still on the fast track.

The ninth meeting, happening today, between the two countries’ heads of state shows the successful trend of an ever-increasing engagement between the two nations.

Both regional powers like Russia and the global community acknowledge that without Iran, there is not going to be a lasting outcome, and that having friendly ties with the Islamic Republic is a win-win deal.

“Moscow recognizes that there can be few lasting outcomes in the region without Tehran’s participation or consent,” according to the director of the Carnegie centre in the Russian capital.

 

 

source : irna

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