The three countries are working together to try to reduce violence in Syria despite supporting opposing sides in the war. Russia and Iran are the strongest backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey supports anti-Assad rebels. In Tehran, Putin and Erdogan will also meet to discuss a deal aimed at resuming Ukraine’s grain exports to the Black Sea. The specter of an emerging US-backed Arab-Israeli bloc that could tilt the Middle East’s balance of power further away from Iran has accelerated efforts by its clerical rulers to strengthen strategic ties with the Kremlin. “Given the evolving geopolitical ties after the Ukraine war, the establishment is trying to secure Moscow’s support in Tehran’s confrontation with Washington and its regional allies,” said a senior Iranian official, who asked not to be named. Sending a clear message to the West that Russia will seek to strengthen ties with anti-Western Iran, Putin will meet with the Islamic Republic’s most powerful figure, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, just days after US President Joe Biden visited Israel and Saudi Arabia.
