As Tehran praises Moscow, critics ask where Russia was
Maryam Sinaiee
Iran International
As Iranian officials continue to tout a “strategic partnership” with Russia, rare public criticism has emerged over Moscow’s muted response to the recent war.
Iran International
As Iranian officials continue to tout a “strategic partnership” with Russia, rare public criticism has emerged over Moscow’s muted response to the recent war.
In interviews with the reformist Shargh daily and the ILNA news agency, Nematollah Izadi, Iran’s first ambassador to the Russian Federation, openly criticized what he described as Russia’s inaction.
“Moscow will inevitably have to answer to history for this silence,” he told Shargh.
In comments to ILNA, Izadi said Russia had the capacity to do more and may even have been able to help prevent the war.
“Unfortunately, in my view, the Russians were not as active in this war as they should have been, even though they have—and had—the capacity to act and possibly even take measures to prevent the war,” he said.
Izadi suggested Moscow’s restrained response may have been shaped by self-interest. He cited higher oil revenues following the easing of US sanctions on Iran, the diversion of global attention from the war in Ukraine and the depletion of NATO military resources.
“It is unacceptable that a war of this scale occurs in Russia’s neighborhood, involving a country like Iran, and that the Russians, for whatever reason—even focusing on Ukraine, oil sales, or any other reason—show no reaction and do not support Tehran,” he said.
'Strategic partnership'
The remarks stand in contrast to official messaging in Tehran.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Russia this week and met President Vladimir Putin, describing ties between the two countries as “a strategic partnership at the highest level.”
He said the purpose of the trip was to exchange views on recent developments and reaffirm Tehran’s view of the relationship as strategic.
Putin said Moscow would do whatever it could to assist Iran and noted he had received a message from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei the previous week.
The Kremlin later said Putin had discussed the Iran ceasefire in a phone call with US President Donald Trump and supported extending it to allow room for negotiations.
Russia has officially condemned US and Israeli attacks on Iran as “unprovoked armed aggression” and “a betrayal of diplomacy.” But beyond rhetoric, Moscow has not provided direct military support such as weapons or air-defense systems, nor has it launched a major diplomatic initiative to resolve the crisis.
'Positive track record'
Western media and organizations including the Foundation for Defense of Democracies have claimed Russia may have provided Iran with satellite intelligence or access to captured US missile technology for reverse engineering.
Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, has denied any Russian military or intelligence assistance during the conflict.
Another dimension of Iran-Russia cooperation involves nuclear diplomacy. Rafael Grossi told the Associated Press that discussions have taken place with Russia and other parties on the possible removal of Iran’s highly enriched uranium from the country.
Russia has repeatedly offered to store Iran’s enriched uranium. Alexey Likhachev, head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, described Russia as “the only country with a positive track record of cooperation with Iran” and said Moscow was ready to facilitate such a transfer, though Tehran has so far shown little interest.
That has sharpened questions in Iran over the practical limits of the relationship.
The S-400 question
Despite a 20-year strategic partnership agreement signed in 2025, the pact includes no mutual defense obligations in the event of an attack.
Meanwhile, promised military cooperation appears limited. A senior Revolutionary Guard official said in January 2025 that Iran had ordered Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, but no verified reports of their delivery have emerged.
Criticism of Russia has also spread on Iranian social media, particularly among users opposed to the Islamic Republic, with many mocking what they see as rhetorical support unaccompanied by meaningful action, such as the non-delivery of advanced systems like the S-400 or Su-35 jets.
For all the talk of strategic partnership, the recent war appears to have exposed the gap between Tehran’s expectations and Moscow’s priorities—fueling skepticism both among officials and across Iranian social media.
Tehran’s unveiling of a towering statue depicting the Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling before pre-Islamic Persian King Shapur I has renewed criticism of the Islamic Republic’s appeal to nationalist sentiment following the June war with Israel.
For over forty years, the theocracy purged ancient Persian history from schoolbooks, replacing it with post-Islamic narratives. But after the 12-day conflict with Israel, officials have turned to the distant pre-Islamic past to rally a divided society.
From murals of ancient kings and soldiers to patriotic songs added to Shi’ite mourning ceremonies performed before Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Tehran now embraces imagery once deemed heretical by its own revolutionary ethos.
'Kneel before Iran' campaign
Tehran’s Revolution (Enghelab) Square was the scene of an unusual spectacle on Friday as officials unveiled a massive bronze statue depicting Roman Emperor Valerian kneeling in submission before Sassanid King Shapur I, commemorating Iran’s victory at the Battle of Edessa (260 AD).
The event was held under the slogan “Kneel before Iran,” part of what authorities describe as a campaign to project “national unity and historical pride” following the June war with Israel.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani, a staunch ultraconservative, said on X: “Enmity with Great Iran can only end in kneeling before this historic nation.”
Municipal official Davood Goodarzi said the installation would be accompanied by visual displays depicting “other victories of Iranians over foreign aggressors,” including the defeat of British forces by local commander Rais-Ali Delvari, Mirza Kuchak Khan’s resistance against Russian troops, and Surena’s triumph over Rome at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BCE.
The goal, Goodarzi said, is “strengthening concepts such as national dignity, social unity, and Iranian identity.”
The statue, he said, would remain temporarily at Revolution Square before being moved to a city gateway “where it will stand as the first emblem of Iran before diplomats and foreign visitors.”
Unveiled women were allowed to attend the unveiling ceremony—an uncommon scene at events organized by Tehran’s ultra-hardline municipality.
The turn to the pre-Islamic past
The sharp reversal also recalls remarks once made by Khamenei. In a 2011 speech, he asserted that “all the great military victories of this nation came after Islam,” dismissing pre-Islamic accounts as “things that are not documented.”
In 1987, he had said that prophets triumphed over kings such as Cyrus and that “nothing remains of these monarchs in history but names remembered with derision.”
Nevertheless, pro-government social media accounts have now gone so far as to circulate posters equating Khamenei himself with Shapur, showing him standing with a staff as Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump kneel before him. The caption reads: “You will kneel before Iran.”
'Hypocrisy'
Pro-government figures have hailed the move as a patriotic success. Conservative political reporter Hossein Saremi posted: “Today’s grand Iranian gathering showed that people and the state share one essence: Iran itself. Nothing can take our homeland away.”
Others, however, called the spectacle “hypocrisy.” Journalist Gholamhossein Pashaei wrote on X: “Every year you close Pasargadae to stop people from celebrating Cyrus Day, yet you unveil Shapur’s statue in Enghelab Square with drums and fireworks during Fatimiyya (mourning period)!”
Dissident commentator Hamid Asafi called the ceremony “a perfect snapshot of the Islamic Republic’s contradictions.”
On Telegram he wrote: “A week ago they closed Cyrus’s tomb out of fear of the crowds, and now they glorify Shapur in the same breath. The Islamic Republic fears living history but poses for selfies with its corpse.”
He added: “They know people no longer respond to rosaries and sermons. That’s why they’ve brought history back to the stage—in a controlled costume. If they can’t erase the past, they’ll try to own it.”
The irony deepened as UNESCO formally recognized Cyrus’s Charter as one of the earliest human-rights documents.
President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X: “Iran, the cradle of dialogue, justice, and coexistence, can still inspire peace today.”
Users swiftly replied, questioning how such pride could coexist with a government that blocks access to Cyrus’s tomb each year to those wishing to visit it on his birthday.