Strategic Partnership; A New Pattern for Iran-Russia Relations

The Syrian Crisis is perceived as a focal point on recent Iranian-Russian relations. The two countries have already been involved together in regional security crises in Afghanistan and Tajikistan, but the recent cooperation in Syria is historically unique in terms of depth and extent. Due to the dimensions, Complexities and new developments of international relations, and also historical context along with structural determinations of Iranian-Russian relations, the traditional patterns of relationships between states cannot explain well enough the new Iran-Russia relations. Accordingly, “Strategic Partnership” is a new pattern that provide better and more facilities for analysis and explanation of Iran-Russia relations by applying its three main criteria of environmental uncertainty(uprising of masses in Middle East), strategic fit(compatibility and complementarity of interests) and system principle(opposing the new hegemonic order of the US and efforts for establishing desired order) on relations. The flexibility and the informal nature of strategic partnership with low commitment costs(as opposed to an alliance), along with being context specific that provide unique features for each relationship has made it popular for politicians and international relation scholars. This paper discusses the applying conditions and the features of Iranian-Russian strategic partnership on formation level. In this paper, we have analyzed the condition for adoption, and unique features of Iranian-Russian SP to present a practical context for formation of this pattern, and the policy making requirements for the future.