Senior Republican Lawmaker Warns of 'Unholy Alliance' Between the Islamic Republic and Russia

Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned on Friday about the increasing deepening of the 'unholy alliance' between Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran in response to the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian. McCaul reminded that the Iranian government is aiding Putin's aggressive war, and Russia is facilitating the transfer of deadly weapons to terrorist groups supported by Iran while supporting the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions. This senior Republican lawmaker cautioned that 'weakness' in the face of the Iranian and Russian governments leads to more aggressive actions from them. Meanwhile, the European Union announced that it will soon impose sanctions on individuals and entities related to the transfer of ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic to Russia. Reuters reported on Friday, October 20, citing a senior EU official, that the EU will present the first package of these sanctions at the meeting of foreign ministers of its member states on Monday, October 23. Earlier, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries condemned the transfer of ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Russia in the strongest terms in a joint statement on Saturday, September 24. They noted that Russia is using Iranian weapons to kill Ukrainian civilians and targeting the vital infrastructure of the country. They also warned that they remain committed to holding the Iranian government accountable for its illegal support of Russia's illegal war against Ukraine and will respond with 'new' and 'significant' actions. The United States has also imposed various sanctions on individuals and entities supporting the Islamic Republic's missile and drone activities. As global concerns about the expansion of military cooperation between the two countries increase, nearly three years after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Masoud Pezeshkian and Vladimir Putin, the presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia, discussed the increasing cooperation between Tehran and Moscow during a meeting in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, on Friday, October 20. In this meeting, Putin referred to the 'active' cooperation between Russia and the Iranian government, stating that the two countries' assessments of current global events are 'often very close.' Pezeshkian did not mention the controversial and costly military support of the Islamic Republic for Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, the Islamic Republic provided thousands of suicide drones to Putin's forces, which have been used to attack civilian infrastructure and Ukrainian citizens. Recently, despite repeated warnings from the international community, the Iranian government sent hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia. In response to the military cooperation of the Islamic Republic with Russia, the United States and the European Union have imposed several sanction packages against Iranian individuals and entities involved in developing these relations. Arash Azizi: Russia and China do not support the Islamic Republic in the Iran-Israel conflict. The European Union will sanction individuals and entities related to the transfer of ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic to Russia. Putin and Pezeshkian emphasize 'increasing cooperation' between Tehran and Moscow despite growing global concerns. Britain: We are facing an increasing threat from ISIS, Iran, and Russia.