Russia and Iran closer allies in wake of Syria attack, says expert

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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson heads to Moscow, April 11, to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — a visit scheduled before U.S. airstrikes on a Syrian airfield last week.

Tillerson blamed Russia for not living up to its 2013 commitment to destroy Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, "and the result of their failure has led to the killing of more children and innocents."

British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon also pointed fingers at the Kremlin, saying Russia bore responsibility "by proxy".

But the lines are drawn in a familiar pattern with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemning the U.S. missile strike.

According to Royal Military College of Canada professor Houchang Hassan-Yari, Iran isn't in the position to drastically react to airstrikes.

"Iran has a very limited capability to respond by force to what the Americans [did]," he tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.  

But he adds the missile attack has made Russia and Iran closer allies "out of necessity."  

"I would say both countries are somehow isolated in the region of the Middle East. They need each other. And the crisis in Syria created a great opportunity for both to revive their regional policy."

Hassan-Yari points to Iran giving access to its airbases to Russian air forces to bomb the Syrian opposition.

"This is the first time that such a thing happened since the Second World War in Iran."

It's still unknown what is planned for Tillerson's visit to Russia, the first by a Trump official. But journalist Ivan Nechepurenko predicts Russia will push for more details on the role the U.S. wants to play in Syria.

"Ever since Trump got elected, it seems that Russia has felt that they can do whatever they want together with its key ally, Iran," Nechepurenko tells Tremonti.

"I think the aim of this visit and what Russian officials want to know from Tillerson tomorrow will be this clarity on what they really want to get in Syria and what this means for Russia."

Related: Trump's supporters in Russia feel betrayed by missile strike

Nechepurenko says Moscow's view of Trump has changed dramatically.

"From bromance, from the times when they were drinking champagne in the Russian parliament when Trump got elected, they have just turned around basically using the same rhetoric against Trump as they were using against his predecessor Barack Obama."

Nechepurenko says Russian officials believed Trump would give them free reign in Syria, the Middle East and Ukraine.

"And of course Trump appears to be acting from his own self-interest, or from the self-interest of the United States. And this seems to be something that … decision makers and policymakers in Russia did not expect."

The mixed messages from Washington has retired U.S. intelligence officer Malcolm Nance wondering if this is all part of Trump's strategy.

He tells Tremonti that the constant flip-flopping from supporting the Assad regime to the dramatic talk of regime change, is "a measure of confusion."

"It may also be a measure of being able to destabilize … the geo-political body politic and eventually settle on something that gives him political cover from both sides of the aisle," Nance says.

"It's a form of political kabuki."

Listen to the full segment at the top of this web post.

This segment was produced by The Current's John Chipman, Ashley Mak and Sam Colbert.