Iran-Backed Militias: What Role Does Russia Play?

For the most part, the regional militias that make up Iran’s “ axis of resistance ” have been keen to sit out the latest fight with Israel, and this posture of deliberate inaction is more focused, purposeful, and cohesive than their response to the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Nicole Grajewski of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace about the role Russia and China could play in de-escalating the Iran-Israel conflict. US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch strikes on Iran presents Russian President Vladimir Putin with peril and opportunity: the attacks hit a strategic partner of Moscow, but they may. Russia has expanded its ties with groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, leveraging its relationship with Iran ’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” to increase geopolitical influence through military and security cooperation, including supplying weapons and conducting diplomatic engagements. Russia ’s reluctance to offer Iran concrete military backing may undermine perceptions of Moscow as a reliable strategic partner, especially for countries facing Western military pressure. Using the Iranian model, Russia started framing its recruitment of Syrian fighters for Ukraine around an anti-imperialist narrative – rallying around the ( Russian ) flag, infused by the principle of ‘brotherhood’, as Russia helped Syria to preserve its territorial integrity. Russia and Iran have long been economic and strategic partners. But despite a new defense pact, the Kremlin is unlikely to offer military aid to Iran in the conflict with Israel. Hundreds of fighters from Iran -backed Iraqi militias have crossed into Syria to help the regime of Bashar al-Assad fight off an insurgency across much of the northwest of the country, which. What role do these groups play in the convergence or divergence of their relations? We argue that, while Iran ’s links to militant groups are an integral part of its defense strategy, these groups are less prominent in Moscow’s intervention model in the region. The deal did not commit Moscow to helping Iran militarily as Putin faces the possibility of losing another Middle East ally.