The Perception of U.S. Threat and Its Impact on the Russia–Iran Alignment, 2002–2023
Journal: International Journal of Social Science Research and Review
Year: 2026

This article analyses the evolution of Russia–Iran relations from 2002 to 2023, arguing that strategic convergence has been driven primarily by shared perceptions of U.S. threat rather than short-term tactical interests. Drawing on Stephen Walt’s Balance of Threat theory and qualitative process tracing, it examines how U.S. military interventions, NATO enlargement, and coercive sanctions reshaped Iranian and Russian threat assessments. Three turning points—the 2003 Iraq War, the 2015 joint inter