Putin does not want Iran to limit Russia’s relations with other powers in the region that he’s been courting in the . Putin has long been personally courting in the middle east...the Saudis, other Gulf Sunni Arabs, and Israel, and in this pursuit does not want to get boxed in by overly intimate ties with Iran.
Putin wants the United States out of the region and to cement Assad’s hold on power in Damascus...that’s the end game.
Russia also competes with the ME when it comes to oil. If there is always some shiite being stirred up there, Russia can sell guns to them and oil to Europe.
“Putin wants the United States out of the region and to cement Assad’s hold on power in Damascus...that’s the end game.”
And attacking Iranians in Syria supports this, how?