State-run press indicated that the Islamic Republic is worried about the prospect of a second round of U.S. or Israeli strikes after the successful operation to take out Tehran’s nuclear program
Iran and Russia conducted three days of joint war drills in the Caspian Sea this week “in order to send a message to the United States” in the wake of its strikes on Tehran’s top nuclear sites, Iranian state-run media reported.
The three-day exercises—codenamed “CASAREX 2025” and held under the slogan “Together for a Safe and Secure Caspian Sea”—included the Iranian Navy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, the Islamic Republic’s Law Enforcement Command, and the Russian Federation’s navy.
“The naval drills send a message on cooperation between Iranian and Russian armed forces to the United States weeks after it joined Israel in attacking Iranian nuclear sites,” Mehr News reported, noting that “Iran has sought to bolster its military capabilities following the U.S.-Israeli 12-day aggression.” In the weeks since Israel and the United States jointly bombed Iran’s top three nuclear facilities, including the Fordow mountain bunker, Tehran has “sought backing from Russia and China to counter U.S. military and economic pressure,” according to the state-controlled publication.
The war exercises kicked off on Monday after Iran’s defense minister met with his Russian counterpart in Moscow “to discuss expanding military cooperation,” as both the United States and Israel have left open the possibility of further strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities should the Islamic Republic attempt to reconstitute its enrichment program.
Iranian defense minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on his Telegram channel that the meeting with Russia’s Andrey Belousov focused on “enhancing bilateral cooperation in the military and defense fields.” Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, also held a “high-level meeting” on Monday with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss “Tehran’s official message about regional and international issues.”
Iranian state press indicated that the regime is concerned that stalled diplomacy with the Trump administration could signal fresh attacks by either the United States or Israel. The war drills and high-level diplomacy with Russia are part of a bid to deter further aggression and signal Moscow’s willingness to defend the Islamic Republic if war breaks out again.
Iran and Russia intended to use their joint exercises to demonstrate control over key areas in the Caspian Sea, which borders Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
“This operation shows Moscow and Tehran’s capacity for maritime security and rescue operations, strengthening their control of the Caspian Sea region,” according to the risk assessment firm SpecialEurasia. “The exercise can further limit the operational space for external intelligence activities, reinforcing Moscow and Tehran’s influence over security arrangements.”
Deepening ties between Russia and Iran limit “opportunities for foreign intelligence agencies,” SpecialEurasia noted in its analysis. They additionally send a message to bordering countries like Azerbaijan, which has attempted to balance its reliance on Tehran and Moscow with its desire for strengthened diplomatic ties with the West.
“Considering Iran and Russia’s relationship with Azerbaijan, and the current regional geopolitical climate, this military exercise could also be a warning against outside interference and send a direct message to Baku,” the firm assessed. Russia and Iran are also working to establish “permanent bases” along the Caspian coast to solidify their maritime supremacy.
While Russia has a history of procuring arms from Iran and helping to finance the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, Moscow and Tehran have grown significantly closer over the past few months. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month that his country is ready to help Iran rebuild its nuclear infrastructure after the U.S. and Israeli strikes, and officials from Russia, Iran, and China met before the 12-Day War to coordinate ways to weaken the Trump administration’s negotiating position.
Iran plans to launch a satellite aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket on Friday, state-run media reported, as part of a space program generally understood to be a cover for the development of advanced long-range ballistic missiles, which could carry a nuclear payload.
Rebeccah Heinrichs, director of the Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative, told the Washington Free Beacon that the Iran-Russia alliance has moved “beyond purely transactional and is more like a true alignment against the U.S. and its allies.”
“Russia has opposed Israel’s war against Hamas while choosing to bolster Iran’s military when it’s at its weakest,” she said. “Realizing their choice to deepen alignment is critical so the U.S. can develop a better strategy to impose costs for their destabilizing behavior and dry up their resources.”
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