Russia is not sending troops to Iran, but continues to provide aid, the publication notes.
In late 2025, Moscow quietly delivered to Iran approximately 40 Spartak MRAP armored vehicles designed for long-duration urban operations, according to Foreign Policy.
Between December 2025 and January 2026, as protests in Iran intensified, Russian and Belarusian Il-76 transport planes made repeated flights to Tehran on routes designed to avoid NATO airspace, the media reported.
The nationwide internet shutdown, which began on January 8, paralyzed society, but allowed government services and banking systems to continue operating. As Foreign Policy notes, with the support of Russian companies, Tehran has built a system of in-depth analysis of Internet traffic. It allows you to specifically block social networks and track the organizers of demonstrations.
In practice, this shifts repression away from mass arrests and towards preventive actions that undermine trust between organizers. It is these methods, as the media notes, that Russian authorities rely on to suppress protests without resorting to constant large-scale violence.
Foreign Policy believes that Moscow will not send troops to patrol Iranian streets or conduct direct military intervention. “Such a move would be expensive, increase international scrutiny and risk dragging Russia into an open-ended engagement reminiscent of Syria, which the Kremlin is determined to avoid.”
At the same time, as the article says, Russia will continue to do what it is capable of: “it will help the regime save itself.” Russia will also seek to protect Iran at the diplomatic level. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Moscow can block or weaken sanctions and strengthen narratives about external intervention to soften criticism from the West, the media believes.
Context
On December 28, 2025, massive anti-government protests began in Iran amid economic problems in the country. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called the protesters “rebels” and called for a crackdown on the demonstrations.
Clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement officers, which, as Reuters wrote, became the bloodiest in the last three years. The media wrote on January 13 that 12 thousand protesters died in Iran, most in two days. On January 15, the WSJ reported that anti-government protests in Iran have sharply declined due to the government's brutal treatment of protesters.
