Iran’s allies in 2024: which countries support its stance on the conflict with Israel?

The situation in the Middle East faces a harrowing prospect of escalation after Iran launched retaliatory strikes against Israel on Saturday in response to the strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus on 1 April which killed several key members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards. Early on Friday, Israel was reportedly behind an attack on Iranian soil, despite calls from world leaders to show restraint given the minimal impact of Iran’s response.

Lines were crossed, say Iran

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had initially stated that Israel “will regret [the consulate bombing],” while Iran’s ambassador to Syria stressed that “Israel crossed red lines.” That was then followed by the barrage of drones and missiles at the weekend.

The attack was anticipated and according to Israeli authorities, around 99% of the hundreds of missiles and drones fired into their territory were intercepted and shot down with aid from US and UK armed forces. Nevertheless, world leaders were anxious to hear the outcome of an emergency war cabinet meeting called by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the UN security council called its own meeting for later on that Sunday.

Leaders called both sides for restraint to defuse an already extremely tense situation. Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, said they were hoping tensions would not spiral out of control.

“We express our extreme concern over another dangerous escalation in the region,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement on the Iranian attacks. “We call on all parties involved to exercise restraint.” China meanwhile, issued a statement through a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson which read: “China calls on relevant parties to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions”.

On the back of Friday’s response, Oman, which has acted as a mediator in the Middle East, issued a statement from its foreign ministry condemning the Israeli attack on Iranian soil, as well as “the repeated Israeli military attacks in the region.”

Who are Iran’s allies?

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has turned to Iran for military support and in December, the two countries signed an economic agreement designed “to counteract, mitigate and compensate for the negative consequences of unilateral coercive measures” - a maneuver to help both sidestep western sanctions. Russia has been a long-term ally of North Korea, lending its support during the Korean War. The relationship between the two nations advanced after Vladimir Putin was to power in 2000. North Korea is one of three nations that recognizes the sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) as independent states, along with Syria and Abkhazia.

Venezuela has also fortified its alliance with Iran in recent years, turning to the Middle East to help keep its oil industry afloat through heavy crude and fuel as well as non-oil trade deals a multi-million contract to repair Venezuelan refineries under Iranian supervision.

In March last year, Ayatollah Raisi announced Iran’s economic cooperation with several developing West African countries and the country’s readiness “to transfer knowledge and new technologies to brotherly and friendly countries including African countries”. Khamenei stated: “Strong relations with Africa and Latin America are part of our definite agenda and, God willing, we will pursue this plan.”

Iran’s diplomatic relationships worldwide

A number of countries have severed diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern nation. For example Iran has no embassy in Washington DC.

The United States severed diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980 following the seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran and its staff by student militants a few months previously. The hostages eventually were released on January 1981 but diplomatic relations were never restored. Switzerland currently serves as the protecting power for US interests in Iran.

Iran’s diplomatic relations with Egypt were severed in 1980 following the Islamic Revolution and the signing of the Camp David accords and remain suspended. For different reasons, other countries, such as Canada, Yemen, Bahrein, Morocco and Albania also recalled their ambassadors from Tehran.