--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ironically, from our perspective, Russia…" description: "\"Ironically, from our perspective, Russia finds Iran a stabilizing force. This is because Iran provides a counterweight to all of the Sunni Muslim power..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/fiona-hill-10019_iran_ironically-from-our-perspective-russia-f_1359006.jpg" --- # Ironically, from our perspective, Russia finds Iran a… ![“Ironically, from our perspective, Russia finds Iran a stabilizing force. This is because Iran provides a counterweight to all of the Sunni Muslim powers in the region, being predominantly Shia. And Putin actually sees, and the rest of the Russian leadership, sees Iran very much as a rational actor.” quote by Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/fiona-hill-10019_iran_ironically-from-our-perspective-russia-f_1359006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/fiona-hill-10019_iran_ironically-from-our-perspective-russia-f_1359006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca3/fiona-hill-10019_iran_ironically-from-our-perspective-russia-f_1359006.jpg) > “Ironically, from our perspective, Russia finds Iran a stabilizing force. This is because Iran provides a counterweight to all of the Sunni Muslim powers in the region, being predominantly Shia. And Putin actually sees, and the rest of the Russian leadership, sees Iran very much as a rational actor.” [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Iran acts as a strategic counterbalance to Sunni powers, making it a rational ally for Russia despite sectarian differences. **In simple terms:** Iran balances Sunni powers, aiding Russia. Key Takeaway Recognize complex geopolitical alliances. Themes geopolitics alliances religion Mood analytical cautious Type political strategic When to use this quote - Middle East policy - Russian foreign policy - energy security Key Concepts realpolitik strategic balance Questions to Reflect On - What are the risks of aligning with Iran? - How does sectarian identity affect strategic decisions? A Different Perspective Reliance on Iran may invite sectarian backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Iran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iran/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) ## Related quotes > [The West sees Iran as an important force in the gulf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-west-sees-iran-as-an-important-force-in-the-gulf/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [In the instance of Iran for Russia, Iran is a very important counterweight to the Sunni Muslim powers in the Gulf, but Russia's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/in-the-instance-of-iran-for-russia-iran-is-a-very-important/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [A nuclear-weapons armed Iran is not in anyone's human-rights interests. That is a direct threat to the lives and the livelihoods and the stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-nuclear-weapons-armed-iran-is-not-in-anyone-s-human-rights/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [President Trump is right to get out of the Iran Nuclear Deal and impose economic sanctions in order to force a more legitimate agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-hyde-smith/president-trump-is-right-to-get-out-of-the-iran-nuclear-deal-and/) [Cindy Hyde-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-hyde-smith/) > [“My whole being is a dark chant that will carry you perpetuating you to the dawn of eternal growths and blossomings in this chant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forugh-farrokhzad/my-whole-being-is-a-dark-chant-that-will-carry-you-perpetuating-you/) Forugh Farrokhzad > [Some Iranian doctors from Europe and America go to Iran and operate for free or teach medical students there. The other day, I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/some-iranian-doctors-from-europe-and-america-go-to-iran-and-operate/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [“Anyone who is portraying Israel as a friend is a servant of Israel. I warn some sides against turning enemies into friends and friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/anyone-who-is-portraying-israel-as-a-friend-is-a-servant-of-israel-i/) [Sayed Hassan Nasrallah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/) > [“The hijab-related deaths and death sentences in Iran show that breaking the attire laws is more dangerous adventure than breaking the nudity laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-n-prasher/the-hijab-related-deaths-and-death-sentences-in-iran-show-that/) [R. N. Prasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-n-prasher/) > [I look at what's happening around the world and I see Iran four years closer to a bomb. I see the Middle East with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-look-at-what-s-happening-around-the-world-and-i-see-iran-four-years/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and the radical Islamist mullahs ruling Iran share many similarities, but honesty and negotiating in good faith are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hoekstra/former-libyan-dictator-moammar-gadhafi-and-the-radical-islamist/) [Pete Hoekstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hoekstra/) > [The plight of the Baha'i community in Iran has served as a backdrop to my life growing up in London, particularly since the Islamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/the-plight-of-the-baha-i-community-in-iran-has-served-as-a-backdrop/) [Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) ## More by Fiona Hill > [The Cold War was obviously driven by a very intense ideological struggle that was very clearly defined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/the-cold-war-was-obviously-driven-by-a-very-intense-ideological/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [Outside of the Moscow elite and a very small urban elite, Russia is one great big blue-collar country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/outside-of-the-moscow-elite-and-a-very-small-urban-elite-russia-is/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [People in Washington, D.C., may not be paying that much attention to what's happening in Chechnya, but people in Riyadh and Amman and elsewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/people-in-washington-d-c-may-not-be-paying-that-much-attention-to/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [I have worked hard and emigrated to the U.S., and I think of myself as working class but I'm probably not any more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/i-have-worked-hard-and-emigrated-to-the-u-s-and-i-think-of-myself-as/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [We've got ourselves into a situation where government service is somehow seen to be a political act rather than an act of civic duty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/we-ve-got-ourselves-into-a-situation-where-government-service-is/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [For Putin, Syria is all too reminiscent of Chechnya. Both conflicts pitted the state against disparate and leaderless opposition forces, which over time came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/for-putin-syria-is-all-too-reminiscent-of-chechnya-both-conflicts/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [The Russians didn't invent partisan divides. The Russians haven't invented racism in the United States. But the Russians understand a lot of those divisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/the-russians-didn-t-invent-partisan-divides-the-russians-haven-t/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [New ties between Russia and Japan would mark not only a breakthrough in their relations but also a significant shift in Northeast Asia's political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/new-ties-between-russia-and-japan-would-mark-not-only-a-breakthrough/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [In the instance of Iran for Russia, Iran is a very important counterweight to the Sunni Muslim powers in the Gulf, but Russia's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/in-the-instance-of-iran-for-russia-iran-is-a-very-important/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [The idea is that Putin-Trump would be a win-win for the Kremlin, as they have mutual interests and alliances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/the-idea-is-that-putin-trump-would-be-a-win-win-for-the-kremlin-as/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [You could say that by standing up to Russia, the U.S. is finally getting some balls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/you-could-say-that-by-standing-up-to-russia-the-u-s-is-finally/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [So with President Obama, he's a very different style. Very thoughtful, posed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/so-with-president-obama-he-s-a-very-different-style-very-thoughtful/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [Because the more you engage with someone who is spreading untruths, the more validity you give to those untruths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/because-the-more-you-engage-with-someone-who-is-spreading-untruths/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [I grew up poor with a very distinctive working-class accent. In England in the 1980s and 1990s this would have impeded my professional advancement.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/i-grew-up-poor-with-a-very-distinctive-working-class-accent-in/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) > [I am very confident based on all of the analysis that has been done - and, again, I don't want to start getting into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-hill/i-am-very-confident-based-on-all-of-the-analysis-that-has-been-done/) [Fiona Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) [Explore all 68 Fiona Hill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-hill/) ## More Iran quotes > [One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/one-of-the-things-the-united-states-does-well-is-building-coalitions/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The plight of the Baha'i community in Iran has served as a backdrop to my life growing up in London, particularly since the Islamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omid-djalili/the-plight-of-the-baha-i-community-in-iran-has-served-as-a-backdrop/) [Omid Djalili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omid-djalili/) > [Former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi and the radical Islamist mullahs ruling Iran share many similarities, but honesty and negotiating in good faith are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hoekstra/former-libyan-dictator-moammar-gadhafi-and-the-radical-islamist/) [Pete Hoekstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hoekstra/) > [I look at what's happening around the world and I see Iran four years closer to a bomb. I see the Middle East with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-look-at-what-s-happening-around-the-world-and-i-see-iran-four-years/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [“The hijab-related deaths and death sentences in Iran show that breaking the attire laws is more dangerous adventure than breaking the nudity laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-n-prasher/the-hijab-related-deaths-and-death-sentences-in-iran-show-that/) [R. N. Prasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-n-prasher/) > [“Anyone who is portraying Israel as a friend is a servant of Israel. I warn some sides against turning enemies into friends and friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/anyone-who-is-portraying-israel-as-a-friend-is-a-servant-of-israel-i/) [Sayed Hassan Nasrallah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/) > [Some Iranian doctors from Europe and America go to Iran and operate for free or teach medical students there. The other day, I met…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-diba/some-iranian-doctors-from-europe-and-america-go-to-iran-and-operate/) [Farah Diba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-diba/) > [“My whole being is a dark chant that will carry you perpetuating you to the dawn of eternal growths and blossomings in this chant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forugh-farrokhzad/my-whole-being-is-a-dark-chant-that-will-carry-you-perpetuating-you/) Forugh Farrokhzad > [President Trump is right to get out of the Iran Nuclear Deal and impose economic sanctions in order to force a more legitimate agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-hyde-smith/president-trump-is-right-to-get-out-of-the-iran-nuclear-deal-and/) [Cindy Hyde-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-hyde-smith/) > [A nuclear-weapons armed Iran is not in anyone's human-rights interests. That is a direct threat to the lives and the livelihoods and the stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/a-nuclear-weapons-armed-iran-is-not-in-anyone-s-human-rights/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Wasn't Saddam destroyed? Wasn't Gaddafi liquidated? Didn't Milosevic go to the Hague? All true. But Stalin survived. Kim Jong-un isn't doing too badly, either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/wasn-t-saddam-destroyed-wasn-t-gaddafi-liquidated-didn-t-milosevic-go/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [In 1953, the United States played a significant role in orchestrating the overthrow of Iran's popular prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh. The Eisenhower administration believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-albright/in-1953-the-united-states-played-a-significant-role-in-orchestrating/) [Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-albright/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) [Browse all 1,422 Iran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iran/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ironically, from our perspective, Russia finds Iran a stabilizing force. This is because Iran provides a counterweight to all of the Sunni Muslim powers in the region, being predominantly Shia. 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