Russia is about to sign a pact with Iran – should the West be worried?
In Moscow on Friday, a couple of days before Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, two of the West’s main adversaries – Russia and Iran – will sign a strategic partnership pact.
It will deepen a relationship that has blossomed since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Should the West be worried? Not according to Russia.
“This agreement, like our treaty with North Korea, is not directed against anyone,” foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this week, referring to a similar pact Moscow signed with Pyongyang last year.
That treaty, however, included a mutual defence clause, with both countries pledging to come to the other’s aid if needed.
It instantly rang alarm bells in Washington, Kyiv, Seoul and beyond.
And now, little more than six months later, Ukraine says it has captured two North Korean soldiers on the battlefield – proof it claims that Russia has deployed thousands of Pyongyang’s troops to the frontline.
It suggests the West’s fears were well-founded.
I expect the partnership with Iran will cause similar concern.
“Russia’s foreign policy major organising principle is now the prosecution of its war in Ukraine,” Alexander Gabuev, director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Centre, told Sky News.
“Every country is assessed through the lens of what this country can bring to the battlefield effort. How can this country help Russia withstand economic pressure? And how can this relationship be instrumentalised by hard men in the Kremlin to punish the West?
“Iran neatly fits into the category.”
Vladimir Putin with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang last year. Pic: AP
The US and UK have already accused Tehran of providing Moscow with ballistic missiles and drones for use against Ukraine.
Both Russia and Iran deny the claim.
But defence is an area where the two countries will cooperate more closely as a result of this new partnership, which Mr Gabuev describes as the “symbolic icing on the cake”.
“The real cooperation is the underwater part of the iceberg, where Russia purchases drones, and designs for drones and missiles and various types of weapons that it needs for the battlefield in Ukraine,” he said.
“In return, Iran gets Russian technical expertise.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From Sept 2024: Blinken says ‘Russia has received Iranian missiles’
According to the Kremlin, the timing for the treaty signing is purely coincidental, and has nothing to do with Mr Trump’s inauguration.
“Let the conspiracy theorists entertain themselves,” said Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Coincidence or not, the optics are convenient for Russia.
Read more:
Iran ‘sends hundreds of missiles to Russia’
How Russia’s links with Iran are growing stronger
Arms contract shows Iran has sold Russia ammunition for Ukraine war
The pact serves as a pointed reminder to the West that the world is changing, and that, in Moscow’s view, the US-led rules-based global order is crumbling.
Mr Putin often speaks of his desire to create a multipolar world, free from Western imperialism and the hegemony of America.
He wants to show that his attempts are working, despite the West’s efforts to isolate Russia.
First North Korea, now Iran – solidarity through sanctions.
The ceasefire deal is “the last chance for Gaza”, Qatar’s prime minister has said, adding: “Failure is not an option.”
In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ Yalda Hakim, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani warned that “peace won’t happen” if there is not a Palestinian state.
He also criticised parties for the time it took to reach a deal.
Qatar has been one of the key mediators between Israel and Hamas in the more than 15 months since the renewed conflict erupted.
Mr al Thani told Sky News: “What we have reached with this deal is the last chance for Gaza. To save Gaza from this war this is our last chance.
“When we talk about peace in general, peace won’t happen without a Palestinian state at the end of the day. To address the root cause of the issue and not to just address the symptoms of the issue.”
Gaza ceasefire agreement latest: Israel’s security cabinet recommends approving deal
Qatar’s prime minister spoke to Yalda Hakim
👉Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim on your podcast app👈
Asked what the consequences of the ceasefire deal collapsing would be, he said: “Failure is not an option. That’s what all of us should aspire to.
“If it fails we will not give up we will make sure it is rehashed again and the parties are adhering to that.”
Mr al Thani said Qatar’s role was as “guarantor and mediators” and that they would make sure the deal is delivered.
He talked about creating a “safety net” for any issues to be resolved before the deal “explodes”.
Qatar’s prime minister also criticised the negotiating parties for the time it took to agree a deal, saying that it was the same framework agreed upon in December 2023.
“Which is basically 13-months of a waste of negotiating the details that has no meaning and is not worth a single life that we lost in Gaza or a single life of the hostages lost because of the bombing.”
Read more:
Iraqi PM frustrated with West’s ‘failures’ over Gaza
The British families of hostages waiting for news
He also touched on US president-elect Donald Trump, who he said could “create a greater impact for the region”.
Commenting on how the incoming administration has operated during negotiations, he said: “I believe if this continues to be the attitude and approach for the next four years, we can create a lot of good things for the region.”
Elaborating on the need for a Palestinian state next to an Israeli state, he said: “That’s what we are aiming for.
“And I believe this moment we count on the wisdom of the leadership of the world. To really push for a solution at the end to the day.”
Israel’s security cabinet has approved a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages and prisoners.
It will now go to the full cabinet for final sign-off, with a meeting said to be scheduled for this afternoon.
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said approval came “after examining all political, security and humanitarian aspects” and with the understanding it “supports the achievement of the war’s goals”.
Live – Gaza ceasefire agreement latest
If passed, the truce could begin on Sunday.
In its first stage, the deal would see 33 of the 98 hostages freed over the course of six weeks. About half of the 98 are believed to be alive.
The remainder are to be released in a second phase that will be negotiated during the first.
Hamas has said it won’t release everyone without a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal.
Between 990 and 1,650 Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be released in exchange, depending on the number of hostages freed.
Hostages’ families in Tel Aviv on 17 January. Pic: Reuters
Hardliners in Israel’s coalition government have criticised the deal as giving in to Hamas and security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to resign if it was approved.
However, he said he wouldn’t bring down the government and ministers are expected to approve it.
The ceasefire has been long in the works and there have been false dawns, but on Wednesday a deal was done after mediation by Qatar, Egypt and the US.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Large blasts continue over Gaza
Read more:
What does Gaza ceasefire say?
What do Israelis think of the deal?
Israel has continued strikes on Gaza in the meantime, and Palestinian officials said 86 people were killed the day after the agreement was unveiled.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza – mostly women and children – according to officials there.
Around 1,200 were murdered in Israel – alongside more than 250 who were kidnapped – in the October 2023 Hamas terror attack that started the war.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How the war has destroyed Gaza
Israel has said it wants to wipe out the group and that it’s killed some 17,000 of its fighters.
However, it’s been accused of not doing enough to protect civilians – claims it denies – in a war that’s devastated Gaza, displaced hundreds of thousands and left many starving.
The World Health Organisation has said it should be possible to dramatically increase Gaza aid to about 600 trucks a day under the deal.
An average of 51 entered in early January, according to UN data.
Dozens of planes have been forced to divert or fly holding patterns to avoid potential debris from the SpaceX rocket that blew up.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it briefly slowed and re-routed planes in the area where the pieces were falling back to earth.
Tracking app FlightRadar24 said its most-watched flights last night after the “rapid unscheduled disassembly” – as Space X called it – were those holding or diverting over the Caribbean.
It appeared to show several planes flying circular holding patterns, including a Spirit jet heading to Puerto Rico and an Air Transat flight bound for the Dominican Republic.
A Boeing 767 transporting Amazon cargo diverted to Nassau in the Bahamas, while a JetBlue flight turned back to where it began in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
SpaceX launches world’s largest rocket
The FAA often closes airspace for space missions and can create a “debris response area” to protect aircraft if a rocket has a problem outside the original closed zone.
Spectacular video on social media showed the debris from the 400ft Starship rocket streaking across the sky, with another clip showing it from the cockpit of a small plane.
Despite the rocket blowing up, SpaceX owner Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting on X: “Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!”
SpaceX launched the rocket from Boca Chica, south Texas, on Thursday around 4.40pm local time (10.40pm in the UK).
The flight was the seventh test for the newly-upgraded Starship, which was due to make a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean about an hour after launch.
But the company said it lost contact about eight and half minutes into the flight, with the last data indicating an altitude of 90 miles and a velocity of 13,245 mph.
Read more from Sky News:
Biden will not enforce TikTok ban – leaving decision to Trump
NASA’s stuck astronaut steps out for a spacewalk
There was some success though – the booster section returned to a launchpad and was caught between two giant mechanical arms.
It’s the second time SpaceX has managed this particular feat and it’s part of its effort to reuse hardware and make space travel cheaper – with getting to Mars the big aim.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket also successfully launched two moon landers earlier this week, while Jeff Bezos also had a big win early Thursday morning.
The Amazon boss’s company, Blue Origin, put its New Glenn rocket into orbit for the first time.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports10 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway