Russian military engagement in the Syrian conflict had a direct impact on Moscow's relations with Middle Eastern countries. However, it was only after the incident with the Russian Su-24 bomber that was shot down by the Turkish Air Force in November 2015 that the international community started to pay attention to the dynamics of Russian dialogue with the regional powers. The main interest among political analysts is the development of the interaction between Tehran and Moscow in Syria. Officially, the Iranian authorities supported Putin's decision to deploy Russian air forces at the Khmeimim airbase. The majority of Iranian politicians praised Moscow efforts aimed at supporting the Syrian regime whereas the main media outlets of the Islamic Republic such as IRNA, ILNA, ISNA and Mehr covered the activities of the Russian army in Syria completely in line with Russian propaganda. Moreover, when characterizing the development of the dialogue between Russia and Iran on Syria, some political analysts and policy makers started to use words such as “cooperation” and even “alliance”.

Nevertheless, the international expert community was and still is far from being unanimous regarding the nature of the Russian-Iranian dialogue on Syria. While some researchers talk of the emergence of a strong regional alliance between Moscow and Tehran, others insist that the cooperation between the two countries remains extremely fragile and predict the imminent end of Russian-Iranian collaboration. Those analysts who believe in the emergence of a regional partnership between Moscow and Tehran refer to the active multilevel interaction between Russia and Iran on Syria. They point out the increased intensity of the diplomatic contacts between Moscow and Tehran since the summer 2015 and emphasize that this recent intensification of bilateral dialogue could only be explained by the need to coordinate the political and military efforts of the two countries in Syria. For instance, Syria was the main topic discussed by Putin and the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, during the visit of the Russian President to Tehran on 23 November 2015. Moreover, according to some sources, this meeting of the Russian and Iranian leaders differed from the standard form: traditionally, during the visits of foreign guests to Tehran, a meeting with Khamenei does not last long and plays a purely ceremonial role. By receiving a high visitor in his office the Supreme Leader gives a political blessing to the visit while the real issues are discussed by the Iranian president and his ministers.