Lot of good points in that article/analysis.
Here is my summary; i’ll make it brief as it’s late here & i’m not in front of a computer.
1. In the 1970s, several yrs before mullahs took over in iran, the shah used to talk about ‘the alliance of reds & blacks’. (Reds ‘commies’, blacks ‘islamists). He was correct.
2. Inside iran the soviet agitation, to overthrow the monarchy, supported by islamists including mullahs was pretty much a continual event.
3. There are left & right wing factions within the mullahs regime in iran. But their core belief comes from islam & islamic doctrine.
4. No doubt there is now, post soviet era, there is a POLITICAL alliance between russia, iran & Assad’s Syria. But it is not an ideological alliance. It has much more to do with geopolitics.
5. I know some on FR have suggested that mulhahs regime supports or even created ISIS. That’s Highly unlikely. Not only because as far back as 2006-7, al-baghdadi actually vowed to kill & demolish ‘persians’ including mullahs regime, especially if they continued to interfere in iraq. But ISIS is a Salafi & a purist brand of islam. ISIS in particular, as we’ve known them, (unlike AQ), will not compromise.
6. Assad’s regime is not islamic, islamist or communist. It’s secular. That means ideologically not aligned with mullahs regime or hezbolla. Their alliance is out necessity to ensure balance of power in that region. Same applies to today’s russia under Putin and its relations with mullahs iran. IOW, they are using each other.
P.S. - mullahs and their supporters connection to Hezbolla is very well known inside iran. Commonly they’re referred to as ‘hezbollahis’ by the average iranian.
I think your analysis is quite good, but I think more emphasis needs to be put on investigating whether the new Russian bosses are the same as the Old Russian bosses (and let’s not leave out their geopolitical ally, Red China) when it comes to the global terror network. You would do well to read every link in reply #2. I do not claim that they are perfectly accurate in every respect. But I think they go a long way in reorienting our thinking so we can once again see the larger picture.