In sharp contrast to Turkey, the Iranians are trustworthy even if their interests are not always the same as Russia’s, and that is how it should be. I would characterize the relationship between Russia and Iran as a strategic partnership of two different but equal parties who collaborate with each other but who retain their own, sovereign, agenda. This is not a formal alliance but, in a way, this is even better as it is something much more flexible and viable in the long term. This is also similar to the kind of strategic partnership Russia has with China, even though the one with China is far deeper and really should be called a “strategic symbiosis”.