Iranian society is anti-Russian, but Iran's ruling forces have strong ties with Moscow – international expert Danilov

He shared his opinion on Espreso TV.

"As you know, the Iranian technocratic establishment dislikes and despises Russia. Iranian society is anti-Russian, its head is turned toward London. If you look at where Iranians are fleeing to, today almost every Iranian family has someone who has left for Europe, most likely for the UK. But none of these families will have a relative in Russia, which means that Russia is not an attractive party in this conflict," said the deputy director of the Center for Middle East Studies.

Serhiy Danilov noted that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is in fact the ruling party and dominant force in Iran, supports Russia, although they do not say that clearly.

"However, a year ago, the Iranians were absolutely sure that Russia would win the war with Ukraine, so they had to join the winner. Negotiations on the supply of Iranian drones to Russia began in May and ended in June 2022. In other words, the Kremlin was able to sell the Iranians, primarily the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the idea of its victory. And Iran, having started this process, could not get out of it," Danilov commented.

• The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Iran is helping Russia wage an aggressive war on Ukraine and is delivering ammunition by water – across the Caspian Sea to Astrakhan.

• On April 28, CNN reported that the Iranian UAVs used by Russia to attack Ukraine are based on stolen Western technology.