The Friend of My Enemy is My Enemy

"[Russia is] an adversary for Israel -- it supports the radical axis that is fighting against us."

"[Moscow's role will grow in importance in the face the intensification of Israel's conflict with Iran and its proxy terrorist groups in the region."

Shay Har-Zvi, former acting director general, Ministry of Strategic Affairs, Israel

"Russia and Iran are closer than ever thanks to the war in Ukraine."

"The Russians could now supply them [Islamic Republic of Iran] with some very important technology that would represent a dramatic upgrade of Iranian capabilities."

Major General (Reserve) Amos Gilead, former top Israeli Defense Ministry official

Kremlin/AP

 

Prior to the October 7 atrocities committed in southern Israel by Gaza terrorist groups alongside Hamas and enthusiastically joined by ordinary Palestinian civilians that wreaked destructive havoc in Israeli border farming communities, leaving 1,200 Israelis butchered, women mass raped and mutilated, families burned to death in their homes, Israel and Russia enjoyed fairly amicable relations, if occasionally tension arose over nighttime aerial bombings of weapons depots in Syria.

That was when good personal relations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin reigned, and Russia's muted approval of destroying Iranian weapons transferred through Syria to Lebanon for Hezbollah, one of Iran's acolyte death-cult militias allowed Israel to act without intervention by Russia protecting its relations with Syrian Present Bashar al-Assad, much less interfering with the presence of Russian warplanes busily aiding the Syrian regime in bombing Syrian Sunni dissidents.

 

Those close Israeli-Russian ties of convenience and good fellowship came to an abrupt halt with the Israel Defense Forces' invasion of Gaza to rout Hamas in a bid to destroy the Hamas infrastructure, the tunnel system, the weapons depots, the rocket launchers, all of which have been installed adjacent to or under hospitals, schools, mosques and civilian infrastructure. Israel no longer routinely alerts Moscow to its intentions to bomb areas of Syria, reflecting their frozen accord.

 

Iran's axis now includes Russia which of necessity precludes the continuation of relations with Israel. Russia is expanding its "mutually beneficial" military cooperation with Iran, a reality that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated when meeting his Iranian counterpart Mohammad-Reza Ashtiano in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana on Friday. 

 

The comfortable weapons exchanges between the two now reflects the distance that Moscow has placed between its interests and its interest in Israel. Where given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and altered allegiances, Israel's continued relations with Moscow were placed under great strain to begin with. Iran now produces a reliable source of deadly drones that Moscow uses in its attacks on Ukraine. The Moscow-Tehran defence accord comes at a time when Israel-Iran tensions have accelerated.

In exchange, Russia is providing sophisticated air defence systems and fighter jets to Iran. Courtesy of Moscow, Tehran is to be supplied with Sukhoi Su-35 fighter planes, set to bring Iran's decades-aged air force to a more technically advanced stage, as well as obtaining the S-400 sophisticated air defence system. Moscow is sharing its cyber warfare expertise and intelligence, as well as helping the Islamic Republic launch spy satellites.

Israel fired supersonic air-to-surface missiles damaging a Russian-made S-300 battery in an airbase near Isfahan, managing to defy Iran's air defences on April 19; a limited response to Tehran's massive missile and drone barrage that was meant to deluge Israeli airspace a week earlier. Following the Iranian April 13 missile strikes on Israel, its foreign ministry describing the attack as "self-defence", when after deadly airstrikes on Iran's Damascus diplomatic compound, Russia backed Tehran. 

The first delivery of Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft was received by Iran in September from Russia. Used to train pilots for the Su-35, the deputy Iranian defence minister revealed that arrangements for delivery of the fighter planes were finalized to replace Iran's outdated current warplanes fleet.

 

Maxim Shemetov/AP/File

Mr. Putin (right) greets Sara Netanyahu (left) as her husband, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, looks on in the Kremlin, Jan. 30, 2020

"Relations with Israel have deteriorated, though both sides retain contact."

"[Ideally], Russia wants to maintain ties with Israel, while strengthening its strategic partnership with Tehran. A war between Israel and Iran would not be beneficial to Moscow."

"But Russia’s ability to influence events is quite limited. ... If it were to be drawn into such a conflict, it would divert significant resources from its operations in Ukraine."

Vladimir Sotnikov, IMEMO Center for International Security, Moscow