Foreign Policy of Russia vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic of Iran (with an Emphasis on Iran Nuclear Program)

Iran and Russia has gone ups and downs of relations for centuries. The most important relations have been built during Tsarist, ex-communist and neo-Russian governments after 1991. Prior to disintegration of ex-Soviet, Russian policy before Iran had been negative and always with politico-military interventions, but after disintegration of Soviet Union and during Putin’s presidency, it has maintained a divergently cooperative policy. In these years, Russian policy enjoyed focal points in different areas. Russia’s paradoxical policy has revealed itself particularly about Iran nuclear program. Although Russia was the only country that continued nuclear cooperation with Iran after the western nations resigned to keep on cooperating with Iran, it has, since Iran nuclear crisis began, tried to maintain its relations with Iran and the west and make benefits from such hubbub. Paradoxical policies of Russia affected by internal-external variables led us to trying to explore the reasons behind the paradoxical behavior of Russia to keep a more understandable concept of such policies because miscalculations trigger unfavorable outcomes when further predictable optimism and reliance towards Russia and its real capacities of foreign policy are given consideration.