In 1521, the Grand Duchy of Muscovy and the Safavids established formal diplomatic relations after centuries of Medieval commercial trade between the two Central Asian regions. Five hundred and one years later, Moscow and Tehran once again are forging ahead with a deepening of military and economic ties — and into a strategic alliance that is morphing well beyond the mutually beneficial tactical “coordination” we’ve witnessed to date in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin, now effectively isolated from the West after launching his “special military operation” in Ukraine, is compelled to expand ties with existing allies — and Iran is now, out of exigency, a Kremlin priority. History does not portend a good ending to this renewed effort — not for U.S. national security or for key U.S. allies in the Middle East, including Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Coinciding with Muscovy’s development of bilateral exchanges with Tehran spanning the 15th to 18th centuries was the rise of Twelver Shi’ism (also known as Ja’afari). Today, Twelver is the predominant branch of Shi’ism, the second largest sect of Islam that was heavily radicalized by the ayatollahs who were led by Ruhollah Khomeini after the Iranian Revolution… (READ MORE)

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