Iran war: Trump is playing into Putin's hands.

<p>While the US bombs Iran, the Kremlin will see immediate advantages for Russia.</p><br /><p>Vladimir Putin expressed “deep condolences” to the people of Iran over the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by US and Israeli forces.</p><br /><p>The Russian president&nbsp;– currently leading his own brutal and illegal war in Ukraine – condemned what he called Khamenei’s “assassination” as a “cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law”.</p><br /><p>Russia and Iran are long-term “strategic partners”. They signed a new treaty in January last year.</p><br /><p>But while Putin offers consoling words to Iran, the Kremlin will undoubtedly have eyes on the potential benefits to them of a US-Israel war on Russia’s ally.</p><br /><p>So, <strong>is Trump’s war in Iran playing into Russia’s hands?</strong></p><p><strong>LISTEN AD-FREE:</strong></p><p>📱<a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2022/06/newapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Download the New Statesman app</a></p><br /><p><strong>MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:</strong></p><p>❓ <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ask a question</a> – we answer them every Friday</p><p>⏰ <a href="https://morningcall.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get our daily politics newsletter</a> every morning</p><p>✍️ <a href="http://saturdayread.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Enjoy the best of our writing</a> via email every Saturday</p><hr /><p style="color: grey; font-size: 0.75em;"> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>