Iran and the Principle of Balance and Containment in Russia's Middle East Policy (Alireza Noori, Iran Review)

Although Russia is very much different from its Soviet predecessor and its current assets do not allow for all-out competition or rivalry with the West, the issue of maintaining the “balance” is still important to it from the viewpoint of both security and identity. Russia's seriousness about this principle can be seen in the hard way that Moscow has taken to counter eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), deployment of the United States’ anti-missile shield in Europe, Washington’s encroachment on the Commonwealth of Independent States (CSI), and West’s expansionist policies in the Middle East. The most important goals of this approach include maintaining Russia's position as a “big power,” preventing the balance of powers from tilting toward the West in international arrangements, and bolstering Russia's geopolitical advantages. However, balance-making is not solely limited to large-scale relations with the West and Moscow has put this necessity on its agenda, of course, on a lower level, when regulating its relations in other regions, including in the Middle East.

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Alireza Noori. P.h.D. Student, Saint Petersburg State University & Expert on Russian Affairs