Russian military experts visited Iran on two occasions in 2024 as Tehran looked to expand its cooperation with Moscow while its network of resistance suffered devastating blows amid war with Israel.

«Russian missile specialists don’t just appear out of the blue,» Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.

«Alarm bells should be going off in Washington and Jerusalem,» Taleblu added.

PRESIDENT TRUMP CAN STOP IRAN’S MARCH TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS: ‘RE-ESTABLISH CREDIBLE MILITARY THREAT’, REPORT SAYS

Senior missile and air defense experts traveled to Tehran in April and September 2024, Reuters reported, as Iran was embroiled in regional confrontation with Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack. 

FDD’s Taleblu said the visit is proof that any effort to divorce Russia from Iran will be self-defeating for the United States. 

It is unclear exactly what kind of cooperation was discussed during these visits. Nicholas Carl of the American Enterprise Institute notes that it comes at a time when Iran is looking to Russia for further air defense support and Russia is buying Iranian drones and missiles to use against Ukraine. Experts, including Carl, agree that Russia and Iran are increasingly collaborating to keep one another strong and in pursuit of their mutual objective of eroding U.S. global influence.

Cooperation between Russia and Iran has intensified since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine. Iran came to Russia’s aid and supplied drones and ammunition when its forces faced stiff resistance from Ukraine, while Iran in 2023 purchased Russian fighter jets and helicopters.

INCOMING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION GIVEN NEW BLUEPRINT ON WAYS TO WEAKEN IRAN: ‘UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY’

Moscow and Tehran further deepened their partnership in January after signing a 20-year «comprehensive strategic partnership treaty,» although the pact does not have a collective security agreement.

The revelations come as the Kremlin said future Russia-U.S. talks will include discussions over Iran’s nuclear program. Bloomberg reported that Moscow agreed to assist the U.S. in talks over Iran’s nuclear program, although Kremlin officials refused to confirm, and instead said that it would merely be a topic of discussion.

President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands as they meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool via Reuters)

Andrea Stricker, who focuses on nonproliferation at FDD, told Fox News Digital that, if true, outsourcing Iran nuclear talks to Russia is not a recipe for success.

«As a key ally, Moscow has a vested interest in keeping Iran close to the nuclear threshold. If he pursues diplomacy, Trump should accept no less than the full, permanent, and verified nuclear disarmament of Iran,» Stricker added.

IRAQI ACTIVISTS SEEK TO OUST IRANIAN INFLUENCE, NORMALIZE TIES WITH ISRAEL

Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, during his first term in 2018 and reapplied harsh economic sanctions. The Biden administration had initially looked at re-engaging with Iran on the nuclear issue upon taking office, but on-again-off-again talks went nowhere, complicated by Iran’s domestic politics and its role in supporting its terror groups in the region.

Putting a halt to Iran’s nuclear program could be an issue where the U.S. and Russia find common ground.

U.S. and Iranian officials attend the Iran nuclear talks at a hotel in Vienna, Austria, on June 30, 2015. (Pool/Siamek Ebrahimi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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Since returning to the White House, President Trump has sought to improve relations with Russia, which were mostly cut off by the Biden administration after Russia invaded Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. officials met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia last month and agreed to improve relations, expand economic ties, and ultimately bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

Los fabricantes

El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, amenazó este miércoles a Hamas con hacerles pagar «un infierno» si no liberan de inmediato a todos los rehenes secuestrados en la Franja de Gaza.

«‘Shalom Hamas’ significa hola y adiós. Ustedes pueden elegir», declaró el mandatario en un mensaje en su plataforma Truth Social en el que agregó: «¡Liberen a los rehenes ahora o tendrán que pagar un infierno!».

Trump publicó este mensaje después de reunirse en el Despacho Oval de la Casa Blanca con ocho rehenes de Hamás que fueron liberados, a los que prometió que logrará la liberación del resto.

«Liberen a todos los rehenes ahora, no más tarde, y devuelvan inmediatamente todos los cadáveres de las personas que asesinaron, o se acabó para ustedes», amenazó el mandatario en su mensaje.

Trump recalcó que está enviando a Israel «todo lo que necesita para terminar el trabajo» en Gaza y apuntó que «ni un solo miembro de Hamás estará a salvo» si no cumplen con este ultimátum.

«¡Esta es la última oportunidad!», exclamó el mandatario, quien sugirió a los líderes del grupo islamista palestino que «tomen una decisión inteligente» o «están muertos».

La amenaza de Trump llega después de que la Casa Blanca confirmara este mismo miércoles que tiene «conversaciones y discusiones en curso» con el grupo islamista para poner fin definitivo a la guerra en Gaza, en la que actualmente hay una tregua vigente.

Las conversaciones son inéditas, ya que Estados Unidos nunca antes había dialogado directamente con Hamas, al que Washington considera una organización terrorista desde 1997.

En una rueda de prensa, la portavoz de la Casa Blanca, Karoline Leavitt, explicó que dichas conversaciones con Hamas están lideradas por el enviado presidencial para rehenes, Adam Boehler, y que han tenido lugar con el conocimiento de Israel, que fue consultado al respecto.

La portavoz defendió este enfoque de diálogo con Hamas como una posible vía para lograr el fin de la guerra en la Franja de Gaza, que ha causado la muerte de más de 48.000 palestinos y donde aún permanecen 59 rehenes israelíes, de los cuales más de una treintena se creen habrían fallecido.

El pasado 11 de febrero Trump ya había asegurado que si Hamas no reanudaba el canje de rehenes antes del sábado 15 se iba «a abrir el infierno» sobre la organización islamista en la Franja de Gaza.