Iran – Russia: The West will not get the lion’s share in rebuilding Iran

Written by – Elijah J. Magnier:

Three rounds of discussions and meetings over two days, and a speech in the State Duma by Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, are sufficient to indicate the importance that Russian President Vladimir Putin attaches to his visitor from Iran. Raisi already announced, as part of his four-year political program, that his country is heading toward the East (Asia) without necessarily closing the door on the West. It is not a coincidence that this visit coincides with the naval drills conducted by the Iranian, Chinese and Russian navies in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. It is an intentional message to America, indicating that the countries against which Washington wages wars of sanctions are uniting among themselves to overcome the unilateralism that has dominated the world since World War II.

An official test group of the Pacific Fleet, consisting of the guards of the missile cruiser Nakhimon Varyag, the anti-submarine warship Admiral Tribuz and a naval tanker Boris Butoma, docked in the Iranian port of Chabahar overlooking the Gulf of Oman. Chabahar port was inaugurated by the government of Sheikh Hassan Rouhani and is operational even before the completion of the final work that is supposed to be achieved this year.

These warships are participating in joint naval exercises with Iran and China to coordinate naval manoeuvres to ensure the safety of international ships, combat piracy, destroy floating mines with artillery fire, and counter-infiltration by hostile submarines. The drills are conducted over 176,000 square kilometres of the northern Indian Ocean and will last for three days. In December 2019, China, Russia, and Iran already achieved a joint naval exercise, which was considered successful and unprecedented cooperation and coordination.

Since the end of World War II, America has attempted the impossible to keep Russia away from the Gulf of Oman and the warm water ports. The US has also encircled China by building a chain of air and naval bases in nearby countries. The Iranian-Russian-Chinese presence at the Chabahar port indicates Iran’s strategic orientation towards the East (Asia), as was decided by the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, demonstrating Iran’s new strategic direction. Iran lost confidence in the West after President Donald Trump tore up the nuclear agreement in 2018, and Europe failed to abide by any of the terms they had signed and promised to be committed to. Germany, France, and Britain feared the US sanctions had they pursued the United Nations’ agreed resolution regarding lifting all sanctions on Iran. They opted to remain idle and numb. UN Secretary-general Antonio Guterres has appealed to US President Joe Biden to lift all sanctions on Iran as agreed under the 2015 deal but to no avail.

Proofread by: Maurice Brasher