Since the outbreak of #RussiaUkraineConflict#, the geopolitical cooperation between Russia and Iran has become closer and closer. According to a report by the Global Times on April 15, just hours after Iran announced a large-scale air strike on Israel, the frigate "Marshal Shaposhnikov" of the Russian Pacific Fleet entered the Mediterranean. Many foreign media, including the Russian TASS news agency and the British "Daily Express", have widely reported on this "coincidence". #MCN首发激励计划 ##伊以冲突#
According to foreign media, it seems that there is a "connection" between the Russian frigate's entry into the Mediterranean Sea and Iran's air strikes against Israel, and in fact there is indeed such a possibility, and Putin may express some kind of "support" to Iran through this move. The main reasons are as follows:
(1) The current Iran-Israel conflict is somewhat related to Russia. In early April, when the Iranian embassy in Syria was bombed and a number of senior military attaches were killed, why was Israel still distracted to provoke Iran when it was besieging Gaza? Because Israel believes that Iran is the "driving force" behind this round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in order to help Russia divert the pressure on the battlefield in Ukraine. In other words, Iran was beaten, more or less for Russia, Iran was forced to fight back, can Russia not show it?
(2) The only purpose of the Russian frigate's visit to the Mediterranean Sea seems to be to express support for Iran. On the one hand, at the end of March, this frigate and the Russian missile cruiser "Varyag" demonstrated force in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, in fact, it also expressed its support for the Houthis and disgusted the international escort group formed by the United States. On the other hand, against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Turkey has banned Russian warships from entering the Black Sea through straits under its control. Since it cannot enter the Black Sea, what is this Russian frigate doing in the Mediterranean? It can only go to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Hamas and Iran.
(3) Don't look at the small size of this Russian ship, but it carries a "big killing weapon", which is enough to show Russia's presence in the local area. The US magazine "Military Watch" said that the frigate "Marshal Shaposhnikov" carried the "Zircon" hypersonic missile, which is considered the "most dangerous anti-ship cruise missile in the world". With such a Russian warship roaming in the Red Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, Putin has also expressed some support for Iran, Hamas and the Houthis.
Therefore, it is indeed reasonable for the Russian and British media to link the entry of the Russian frigate into the Mediterranean Sea with Iran's response to Israel's large-scale air strikes. But is it possible that if the Russian fleet had not entered the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the Iranian embassy might not have been bombed?
After all, Israel believes that Iran is secretly escalating the situation in the Middle East in order to "untie" Russia and divert the attention of the United States from Ukraine.
At the same time, the United States and Israel also warned Iran through this move not to think that with Russia's support, you can "sit back and relax", calmly control Hamas and Houthis to attack Israel, and now slap you in the face, who can protect you?
Just after Iran was forced to "fight back in self-defense" to a limited extent, Israel was also considering retaliating for Iran's attack, but the United States was worried that the situation in the Middle East would escalate and it would "fall deeper and deeper", so it initially said that it "did not support" Israel to "fight back", and later made it clear that it was "opposed". So far, Israel has not retaliated, but has only made it clear that it will fight Iran's "proxies", namely Hamas, the Houthis, and Allah.
In fact, there is a subtext here, that is, Iran should carefully consider whether it still supports Hamas, Houthis, and Allah in attacking Israel, and I will hit your little brother now, what is your attitude? And if Iran continues to support Russia, things like "flattening" the Iranian embassy building may still happen.