April 19, 2026
The Russia-Iran Partnership
This article was originally published in Lawfare.
The war in Ukraine was a turning point for the Russia-Iran partnership, spurred by Russia’s need to purchase and mass-produce thousands of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). Now, it’s Tehran’s turn to ask for help, and the dangerous effects of this partnership are threatening American lives directly. Almost as soon as Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, Russia began sharing intelligence with Iranian troops—including the location of U.S. personnel and satellite photos of U.S. military assets positioned in the region. More recent reporting revealed that Moscow is also helping Tehran improve its drone operations based on lessons learned from the aerial battlefields over Ukraine and organizing shipments of one-way attack drones to boost Iran’s offensive capabilities. One of Washington’s main adversaries—armed with several thousand nuclear warheads—is now aiding its ally in a major war against the United States. If policymakers had any doubts in the past about the importance of disrupting the Russia-Iran partnership, this should be their wake-up call.
The United States needs to prioritize increasing the cost of Russia’s support for Iran; sanctions alone are not sufficient and often encourage U.S. adversaries to get more inventive in their evasion measures.
At its core, the relationship between these two U.S. adversaries is about mutual self-interest. In Moscow, Tehran has a reliable supplier of advanced weapons systems to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iranian proxies across the Middle East. From Iran, Russia receives proprietary military technology and a partner in international sanctions evasion schemes. Unless the Trump administration is willing to take aim at Russian weapons facilities like Yelabuga, the Iranian shadow fleet that ferries shipments across the Caspian Sea, and the Kremlin’s arms export agency, it will not be able to prevent Russia from resupplying Iran. It also will not be able to stop the Russians from helping Iran rebuild its weapons production capabilities after the end of Epic Fury.
Read the full article in Lawfare.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Middle East Security / National Security Law
Continuing Crisis in Strait of Hormuz: Why Iran’s Hold is Illegal and U.S. Military Force Alone FailsIran has drawn explicit lessons from this disruption and is now seeking to institutionalize its control....
By Mark Nevitt
-
Video
Defense / Middle East Security
CNN: 1,000 Army Paratroopers Deploy to Middle East in DaysBecca Wasser, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security joins CNN to discuss the deployment of troops to Iran and the status of negotiations.Watch the fu...
By Becca Wasser
-
Commentary
Defense / Middle East Security
What It Would Take to Reopen the Strait of HormuzThe strait is about 140 miles (225 kilometers) long and only 25 miles wide at its narrowest point, meaning ships have little room to maneuver and are easy targets for attacks ...
By Becca Wasser
-
Video
Middle East Security / Energy, Economics & Security
Oil Prices Continue to Underprice OutageAs the Iran war continues into its 4th week, the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has heightened pressure on the US and major energy importers. Iran has threatened to...
By Rachel Ziemba
