Russia, US intensify moves as tensions mount in Middle East

While Russia and the US intensify maneuver in the Middle East as tensions between Iran and Israel ramp up due to the assassinations of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu visited Iran and the US increased its military presence.  

Analysts said the situation now is truly worrisome with Iran and Israel vowing to strike each other. However, neither Washington nor Moscow wants an escalation, as they have priorities on the Ukraine crisis in Europe and own domestic affairs with no resources to spare. 

Russia and Iran's shared position on the multipolar world will promote global stability, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at a meeting with Shoigu, Russian media TASS reported on Monday. The Iranian president stressed that the era of the US and its allies' hegemony is over.

Shoigu's trip aims to strengthen interactions and examine regional and international issues and bilateral political security relations, according to Iranian media ISNA.

Wang Jin, an associate professor at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at Northwest University in Xi'an, said that Russia has long and deep cooperation with Iran and also has a military presence in the region. As Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel, a new conflict could break out any time, so the two countries have very strong reasons to coordinate.

"If Iran attacks Israel by launching missiles and drones from its own territory or its allies' in the region, those weapons could fly over the area controlled by Russia, so Moscow and Tehran will have necessary intelligence sharing and coordination before Iran takes action," Wang said. 

US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) is also setting sail to the Middle East from the Pacific to relieve the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and its strike group. Meanwhile, the Navy is sending additional ships to the region following "threats from Iran," Pentagon officials announced on Friday.

Although the US is sending more military strength to the region, analysts said that an open Israel-Iran conflict is not in Washington's interest

Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, said that the US and Russia cannot afford another regional conflict in the Middle East. Liu said that Russia is a major power that carefully handle ties between Iran and Israel, despite its broad military cooperation with Iran, so despite the actions that Washington and Moscow are taking, it will not fuel the flames, but they are aimed at deterring escalation and preventing damage.