By Fariba Raad | 2025-04-29

A 20-year Russian-Iranian strategic partnership ratified April 8 by the Russian State Duma stops short of the military guarantees the Kremlin extended to North Korea in a 2024 pact and does little for ordinary Iranians, analysts said.

The treaty encompasses defense, counterterrorism, energy, finance, transport, industry, agriculture, culture, science and engineering cooperation, but provides no concrete military backing, Russia's TASS news agency reported January 21.

"The signatories pledged not to help aggressors in case of an attack on Russia or Iran, but the document does not imply military assistance in case of an armed attack on one of the parties to the agreement," it said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said "the signing of the treaty does not mean the establishment of a military alliance with Iran or mutual military assistance," AFP reported.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov praised the "advanced nature of political dialogue" between the nations during an April 18 press conference.

Lavrov noted the implementation of "financial and bank payments, logistics chains and other mechanisms serving trade and investment, which protect us from unlawful actions" -- Moscow's preferred term for international sanctions.

Yet this partnership offers little economic relief for ordinary Iranians, who are struggling amid an economic crisis, and analysts note that Russia -- preoccupied with Ukraine -- lacks the resources to significantly invest in Iran's economy.

They say transport corridor and energy agreements primarily benefit regime-linked conglomerates, while intelligence sharing with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) further strengthens the regime's grip internally.

'Political theater'

Iran expert Shahram Kholdi, a consultant to the Canadian parliament, pointed to the 2001 Tehran-Moscow treaty, which yielded limited economic dividends.

"These treaties function more as instruments of political theater -- signaling resistance to Western pressure and shoring up domestic narratives -- than as frameworks for substantive change," he told Pishtaz.

"Iran and Russia remain competitors in the global energy market," he noted, adding that in a potential scenario where Russia secures sanctions relief through a Ukraine settlement, "it may reassert dominance in energy exports."

This would potentially undermine Iranian oil revenues and create instability in their economic partnership, he explained.

The treaty offers no Russian commitment to defend the Islamic Republic if it is attacked, said Iran Desk director Shahin Modarres of the International Team for the Study of Security in Verona, Italy.

"Moscow views Iran not as a true strategic ally but rather as a convenient subordinate," he said.

Even Iranian policy experts close to government circles express doubts, with Governance and Policy Think Tank co-founder Seyed Emamian describing the treaty as merely "a symbolic milestone" at a March 24 Valdai Club panel.