Key points
- The US struck Iran's nuclear facilities, leading to a ceasefire between Israel and Iran and seen as a diplomatic victory for Donald Trump.
- Russia failed to help Iran in the conflict, failing to become an important player in the situation in the Middle East.
The Middle East conflict was defused when the US struck Iran's nuclear facilities, after which Israel and Iran quickly agreed to a ceasefire.
However, Russia has proven unable to help its ally Iran in its standoff with Israel. Retired British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, speaking to Channel 24, explained why the Kremlin has not actively intervened in the conflict in the Middle East.
Trump's Diplomatic Victory
“Iran was probably hoping that Putin would step in and, as they say, 'ride a white horse' with air defense systems, ammunition and equipment to support it against the US and Israel,” Bretton-Gordon suggested.
But Russia did nothing. The only thing Putin proposed – and this, according to the retired colonel, seems beyond parody and irony – was to act as a mediator between Israel and Iran.
However, in reality, this is a diplomatic victory for Donald Trump. He managed to deal a serious blow to Iran's nuclear infrastructure, and this can be considered a positive result, he explained.
Moreover, it was the US President who secured the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, which they are now adhering to. So this is certainly a huge success for the White House and, in his opinion, a serious defeat for the Kremlin.
It is already becoming obvious that Russian weapons are absolutely no match for modern American technology. And this should cause great concern among Russian generals and politicians, because their vulnerability is becoming obvious, – Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is sure.
Putin failed to help Iran because, as a retired British Army colonel noted, he simply could not afford it. Russia has neither the technology nor the resources. The Kremlin launches many missiles and drones into Ukraine every day, and a significant number of them come from Iran. So Putin has no military reserve that he could hand over to the Iranians.
It should be noted that according to Ivan Us, chief consultant of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Russia, apart from verbal support, did not help Iran in any way during its confrontation with Israel. Opinions are appearing in the media that “Russia has 'ditched' Iran”, since during the visit of the Iranian Foreign Minister to Moscow, Tehran asked Russia to temporarily take over Iranian uranium and return the missiles that it had given it. However, the Kremlin did not agree to either the first or the second point.
