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Russia and Iran's Marriage of Convenience

Mar 28, 2017 | 23:58 GMT

The countries cooperate where it suits both their needs, but centuries of competition bubble under their relationship.

A visit to the Kremlin by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who met March 28 with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was meant to send a signal to the world, especially the United States, about the enduring relationship between Iran and Russia.

(SERGEI KARPUKHIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reunited with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for a high-profile visit Tuesday that was clearly meant to telegraph to the world -- and the United States in particular -- that the strategic alliance between Iran and Russia is stronger than ever. After all, as Putin put it, the relationship stretches back 500 years. But neither Putin nor Rouhani has forgotten the intense bouts of geopolitical competition between the two powers over those five centuries. That underlying distrust could be felt this week even as the leaders worked to deepen their ties....

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