Alexandr Dughin, considered the ideologue of the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says that the joint attack by American and Israeli forces on Iran signals the collapse of international law and the opening of a new era in which global politics will be governed by brute force.
If Iran falls, then this could encourage similar actions against other states, especially against Russia, Dughin wrote in an article published in the Arktos Journal.
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“What happened on the first day of the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran fundamentally changes the global balance of power and the rules of international politics. In principle, after the kidnapping of Maduro and the establishment of direct external control over Venezuela, and now, after the strikes on Iran, with the targeted destruction of the military-political and religious leadership of the country, a sovereign power that was willingly in negotiations with the United States, there can no longer be talk of rules, laws or any norms of international relations in the world”, says the ideologue of the Kremlin regime.
“From now on, only the right of the strong, the right of the one who acts faster applies. Whoever strikes first or acts faster is right. Everything else becomes just an additional justification,” Dughin writes.
“Everyone else will start acting exactly the same way”
“I think now almost everything depends on how long and how resolutely Iran can hold out. If it continues to wage this war even after the destruction of its political leadership, if it does not surrender, raise the white flag and capitulate, then this could end badly for the West itself. After all, everyone else will start acting in exactly the same way, paying no attention to anything and overestimating their own potential, regardless of their legal status.
This will give free rein to many regional powers to do whatever they want. This could very quickly lead to the use of nuclear weapons – perhaps in the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict, perhaps in others. There are definitely no rules anymore,” Dughin added.
On the other hand, if a new leadership were to be installed in Tehran and declare capitulation, then the war could be a short one, according to him.
Russia, the “next target”. China, “next to us”
The Russian ideologue states that if the Western strategy succeeds in Iran, the next step may be to “remove the main figures in Russia's political and military leadership.”
“If things go this way, we should expect a similar scenario. There is no doubt that Trump and the West, seeing that this strategy is working, will then turn to the removal of key figures in Russia's political and military-political leadership as a next step.”
Today it is already clear that we are acting hesitantly. By the same token, we could be hit right during the next negotiations with Kushner and Witkoff, perhaps even with a nuclear weapon. We have not intervened for Venezuela or Iran, and China remains neutral. But in such a case, China will be next after us. And then the “Kingdom of Epstein” will rule over the entire space of humanity”, wrote Alexandr Dughin.
He argues that Moscow should react “according to the same rules” that the West applies and warns that, in the absence of a firm reaction, “missiles will fly at Moscow right in the middle of the negotiations”, in a scenario he compares to the Iranian one.
“If we had enough will and determination (although I have serious doubts about this), we should start acting according to the same rules that everyone else, except us, already acts. That is, we could eliminate the military and political leadership of Ukraine and, regardless of the cost, we could carry out the objectives of the Special Military Operation. But I'm afraid we will not dare to do that, and we will continue with the same old song. And then, I repeat, missiles will fly to Moscow right in the middle of negotiations with Kushner and Witkoff, literally following the script of Baal: it repeats the same scripts over and over again, because everyone thinks that this applies only to Gaddafi, Hussein, Milošević, Mubarak, Nasrallah, Assad or Khamenei. Thus, step by step, the civilization of Baal achieves its goals.
Therefore, we either mobilize urgently or the situation will become extremely difficult. And if we still have illusions, then there is some kind of profound falsehood prevalent in our own camp. This is especially visible against the background of what happened in Iran, which is a catastrophe of global proportions. Wonderful people, outstanding spiritual leaders, were killed. By comparison, it would be as if the Patriarch of Moscow, the President, the Chief of the General Staff and all the key ministers were killed at the same time, along with over a hundred schoolgirls, innocent souls, killed by missiles. After such an event, is it possible to remain indifferent and pretend that it does not concern us in particular, that it is none of our business?”, Dughin concluded.
Putin:All norms of human morality and international law have been violated”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family was a “cynical” crime that violated all norms of human morality and international law, according to Reuters.
“Please accept my sincere condolences regarding the cynical assassination of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and his family members, in violation of all norms of human morality and international law,” Putin said in a note to his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday and published by the Kremlin.
“In our country, Ayatollah Khamenei will be remembered as an outstanding statesman who made an enormous personal contribution to the development of Russian-Iranian friendly relations and bringing them to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership,” Putin said.
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Putin has kept support for Iran low-key
The drones widely used by Russia in the war against Ukraine are of Iranian design. Initially, Russia took them directly from Iran, then began to produce them. Since the Middle East war began, Russia has continued to avoid any concrete support for Iran, offering only standard condemnations instead after the deaths of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other political and military leaders in Tehran, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington think-tank, observed.
The Kremlin likely remains constrained by its own war efforts in Ukraine and a desire to extract concessions from the United States without sacrificing its goals in Ukraine, say analysts at the Institute for the Study of War and those cited by the Kyiv Independent.
The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia was in constant contact with the Iranian leadership over what it called “direct aggression” against Tehran and that it was deeply disappointed by the way events had unfolded.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia is analyzing the situation and drawing its own conclusions
“The Kremlin will likely remain constrained by its own war efforts in Ukraine and a desire to extract concessions from the United States without sacrificing its goals in Ukraine,” ISW analysts said.
This is not to say that Russia has not helped Iran so far.
Two of the world's most sanctioned states, Russia and Iran have collaborated to circumvent Western restrictions by operating a “ghost fleet” that has allowed them to maintain vital oil revenues despite economic isolation.
Moscow has also sought to shield Tehran from further international pressure.
Russia and China tried unsuccessfully to delay last fall's UN “snapback” sanctions, a mechanism that was part of the now-defunct Iran nuclear deal.
