This week, an IRGC commander revealed that Iran has secured Russian-made Sukhoi-35 fighter jets.
On the same day, state media reported that the IRGC’s naval forces “fired Ghaem and Almas missiles equipped with artificial intelligence from advanced Mohajer-6 and Ababil-5 drones.” Stating that the precision-guided missiles developed domestically by the Iranian defense ministry “successfully destroyed hypothetical enemy targets,” IRGC naval commander Alireza Tangsiri also revealed that Iran was producing cruise missiles with ranges “exceeding 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) that are utilized with AI technology.”
These moves aren’t happening in isolation. They come just weeks after Russia and Iran sealed a 20-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, signed by Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Comprising forty-seven articles, the two-decade-long partnership, which “may be amended and supplemented,” is likely to have long-lasting geopolitical implications.
The Treaty gives significant impetus to cooperation in a broad range of areas as wide-ranging as military, technology, and trade. The Agreement tightens military ties, deepens defense collaboration, and fast-tracks joint training, intelligence sharing, and warship deployments.
While stating that both parties shall “not provide any military or other assistance to the aggressor which would contribute to the continued aggression” and shall resort to “the United Nations Charter and other applicable rules of international law” to resolve such issues, the Treaty also explicitly rules out supporting “separatist movements and other actions that threaten the stability and territorial integrity” of the signatories.
Though the Agreement falls short of a military alliance, its broad scope and stated intents give cause for concern. The Treaty aims to promote “joint projects in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy, including the construction of nuclear energy facilities” and expand “cooperation in the oil and gas sector.” With Tehran potentially weeks away from a nuclear breakthrough, Iran insists its program is peaceful. Analysts, however, warn that the hardline regime is working to build a nuclear weapon as a deterrent to Israel. Though Russia may not want Iran to possess an atomic weapon that tilts the power balance in the region, Moscow has been aiding the country’s nuclear ambitions for decades.
Besides these crucial sectors like defense and energy, Russia and Iran aim to promote “trade, economic and industrial cooperation, creating mutual economic benefits, including joint investments, infrastructure financing, easing of trade and business mechanisms” in the next twenty years. Bilateral trade has been steadily increasing over the past few years. Last year, Iran’s Customs Administration reported that non-oil trade between the two countries had touched $1.902 billion in just nine months (March-December 2024).
The Treaty undoubtedly aims to challenge and counter Western domination and create a “multi-polar world.” Largely isolated on the global stage since it invaded Ukraine, Russia is shoring up its allies and alliances. Though Tehran has indicated that it would welcome a negotiated end to the Ukraine war, the two have collaborated throughout the conflict, supplying drones and exchanging intel.
Faced with relentless Western sanctions, Moscow and Tehran are racing to secure economic lifelines. Their latest move? The North-South International Transport Corridor—a trade route cutting through Iran and Azerbaijan—designed to bypass traditional chokepoints and keep commerce flowing. The multi-modal transport network will enable Russian goods to bypass traditional maritime chokepoints like the Suez Canal and sensitive geopolitical spots like the Baltics. Further, the Agreement to “transition to bilateral settlements in national currencies” is an attempt to circumvent international sanctions that have depleted their national coffers.
Iran’s entry into BRICS and last year’s inclusion in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) solidify its alignment with China and Russia. These alliances bring together nations that oppose the Washington-led Western bloc—or strategically pick sides based on their national interests. Multiple forums like the BRICS and the SCO that facilitate diplomatic engagements could drive Tehran closer to China, creating parallel international institutions and power structures that weaken the West’s hold on maintaining a rules-based order. They could also erode the bite of international sanctions – the West’s chosen way of dealing with rogue regimes and non-friendly countries.
Despite its extended and expansive vision of the Treaty, the geopolitical climate in the region is volatile and could impact the two parties. It would be interesting to see how the new Syrian administration under Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir deals with the two friends of former dictator Bashar al-Assad.
The unexpected and sudden fall of the Assad-led regime in Syria and President Trump’s return to the White House are believed to have nudged the two countries to formalize ties that have been growing warmer over the past few years. This Agreement doesn’t just signal unity—it cements a defiant new bloc against the West.
TIPP Picks
Selected articles from tippinsights.com And More
Immigration
1. Thousands Arrested: Trump’s Week 1 Border Crackdown — Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal
2. Daily ICE Arrests Under Trump Already Surpassing Biden-Era Numbers — Jason Hopkins, DCNF
3. Kevin Roberts Pinpoints How Congress Can Help Trump Execute Massive Deportation Effort — Tom Gantert, The Daily Signal
4. Here’s How Republicans Should Follow Through With Their Tough Talk on Immigration — Kevin Roberts, The Daily Signal
5. The Birthright Citizenship Clause Too Many Forget, But Trump Is Right To Question — Amy Swearer & Hans von Spakovsky, The Daily Signal
6. ‘How Do You Guys Sleep?’: Chicago Resident Rips Officials Criticizing Deportations Of Illegal Immigrants — Hailey Gomez, DCNF
7. Trump Rocks Latin America As Leaders Adjust To Deportations, Tariff Threats — George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
Trump’s Political Gambit
8. Desperate Dems Throw Eggs At Trump — Editorial Board, Issues & Insights
9. Why Trump’s First Moves In Office Have Been So Scary — Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post
10. ‘I Don’t Care, Margaret’: JD Vance’s MAGA Mic Drop Moment — Philip Wegmann, RealClearPolitics
11. Trump’s Visit To North Carolina Means More Than Many Understand — Salena Zito, The Daily Signal
12. Trump DOJ Fires Officials Who Worked With Jack Smith — Katelynn Richardson, DCNF
13. Jan. 6 Prisoners Slowly Being Released After Trump’s Pardons — Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
14. New Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Shows Changes Already In Motion — Thérèse Boudreaux, The Daily Signal
Government & Policy
15. Make Government Small Again — Steve McKee, The Daily Signal
16. The Nerds Are Unknowingly Creating Perfect Storm Targeting Americans — Mary Rooke, DCNF
17. While Biden Slept, China Leapt — Editorial Board, TIPP Insights
18. Education: Where Liberty Is Winning Some Important Battles — Henry Lever, Mises Wire
19. Why Is The Department of Education Still Offering A ‘Nonbinary’ Gender Marker On Student Aid Applications? — Tyler O’Neil, The Daily Signal
20. When Head Start Fails Our Children: A Wake-Up Call For Reform — Madison Marino Doan, The Daily Signal
Election & Politics
21. Melania Trump Cosplays The Apprentice In Her Official White House Portrait — Hannah Jackson, Vogue
22. Vogue Faces Backlash Over Melania Portrait Review — X
23. Caroline Kennedy Is Why I Am No Longer A Democrat — Sasha Stone, Substack
25. Don’t Despair, Democrats – Their Time In The Senate Minority May Last For A While – James Freeman, WSJ
26. Michigan Democrat Gary Peters Not Seeking Reelection, Leaving Key Senate Seat Open — Henry Rodgers, DCNF
27. Vance Slams FEMA In Virginia Town Devastated By Hurricane Helene — George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
28. Defying DeSantis, Florida Legislature Gavels Out Of Special Session, Then Reconvenes — Steve Wilson, The Daily Signal
29. The Reckoning: Twitter Files Exposed the Truth, Trump’s Victory Sealed Big Tech’s Transformation — Editorial Board, TIPP Insights
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Hamas Officials Say Israel Delaying Aid Delivery To Gaza, May Affect Hostages’ Release – AFP
Israel dismissed the allegations as “fake news.” Since a ceasefire in the war in Gaza took effect on January 19, truckloads of aid have been allowed into the devastated Gaza Strip.
The truce is hinged on the release of Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack, in exchange for 1,900 people held in Israeli jails. Hamas has so far released seven hostages, with 290 prisoners freed in exchange. Three more hostages are due to be released on Thursday.
2. Sisi Says Egypt Will Not Participate In ‘Act Of Injustice’ Displacing Palestinians – The Jerusalem Post
Egypt will not participate in the displacement of Palestinians, an “act of injustice” that would threaten Egyptian security, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said, his first public response to Donald Trump’s call for Cairo to take in residents of the Gaza Strip.
Trump said on Saturday that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza, which he called a “demolition site” following 15 months of war ignited by Hamas’s October 7 2023 attacks that made most of its 2.3 million people homeless.
3. Putin: Kyiv Talks Possible, But Not With Zelenskyy – AFP
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said that his country could hold peace talks with Ukraine, but ruled out speaking directly with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he called “illegitimate.”
The Ukrainian leader responded by saying that Putin was “afraid” of negotiations and was using “cynical tricks” to prolong the nearly three-year conflict. “If (Zelenskyy) wants to participate in the negotiations, I will allocate people to take part,” Putin said, calling the Ukrainian leader “illegitimate” because his presidential term expired during martial law.
4. For Russians, Home Affordability Hits ‘Rock Bottom’ As Mortgage Rates Soar – RFE/RL
With the war in Ukraine dominating Russia’s economy, a once-lively mortgage market has largely ground to a halt, paralyzed by soaring interest rates and a sharp curtailment of state subsidies for first-time buyers. The result: For many Russians, the dream of homeownership is now an unreachable luxury.
More than 18 months into the Russian central bank’s spree of interest-rate hikes aimed at taming accelerating inflation triggered by massive government spending on the war, market rates for home loans now hover around an eye-watering 29 percent, with a minimum down payment of 30 percent.
5. Russia Says Aussie Fighting For Ukraine And Feared Dead Is Alive In Captivity – UPI
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Russia has reported Oscar Jenkins is alive and in custody.
The Australian man went to Ukraine to fight against Russia’s invasion and was feared dead after being captured. Albanese said Russia sent the information to Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Russia’s ambassador said Jenkins is held on Russian territory and his health condition was normal.
6. Syria’s New Rulers Urge Russia To Fix ‘Past Mistakes’ – Al Arabiya
Syria’s new leadership urged Moscow to “address past mistakes” during talks with visiting Russian officials – the first since former president Bashar al-Assad, a Kremlin ally, was toppled last month.
The visit came with Russia keen to secure the fate of two military bases in Syria and after Russian President Vladimir Putin denied Moscow had suffered a strategic defeat in the Middle East following al-Assad’s ouster. The talks covered “justice for the victims of the brutal war waged by al-Assad’s regime,” Syria’s leadership said in a statement.
7. DeepSeek: How China’s ‘AI Heroes’ Overcame U.S. Curbs To Stun Silicon Valley – BBC
Long before the U.S. chip ban, DeepSeek acquired a “substantial stockpile” of Nvidia A100 chips – estimates range from 10,000 to 50,000 – according to the MIT Technology Review.
Leading AI models in the West use an estimated 16,000 specialised chips. But DeepSeek says it trained its AI model using 2,000 such chips, and thousands of lower-grade chips – which is what makes its product cheaper.
Washington’s ban brought has “forced Chinese companies like DeepSeek to innovate” so they can do more with less, says Marina Zhang, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney.
8. Alarm Over China’s Plans To Build World’s Largest Dam – TIPP Insights
Beijing’s plan to build the world’s largest hydropower facility is raising concerns about displacement of communities in Tibet and environmental impacts downstream in India and Bangladesh.
9. Trump’s Freeze On Foreign Aid Rings Alarm Bells Across Globe – TIPP Insights
President Donald Trump’s decision to pause foreign funding has sparked concern worldwide, given Washington’s position as the top humanitarian aid provider.
10. Bernard Arnault Slams French Tax Hikes, Considers Investing More In Trump’s U.S. – Politico
Billionaire Bernard Arnault tore into the French government for proposing a tax hike that would hit France’s most valuable companies.
“When you come back to France and see that we’re about to increase taxes by 40 percent for companies that manufacture in France, it’s incredible. It’s the ideal way to encourage offshoring,” the head of luxury goods giant LVMH said. Arnault instead praised the business-friendly economic recipe of U.S. President Donald Trump, who is planning to massively cut taxes and red tape as well as “unleash American energy.”
Related Editorial: Europe Shrugged—Now Irrelevant
11. Trump Media Expands Into Crypto, ETFs, Other Financial Services – UPI
Trump Media says the president’s company will expand into various investment products and areas of unregulated “decentralized finance,” it announced.
The company’s board of directors approved its launch of a financial service tool and FinTech brand Truth.Fi. “Truth.Fi is a natural expansion of the Truth Social movement,” Trump Media and Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes said in a release. The president indirectly owns a majority 114,750,000 shares of Trump Media, the operator of his Truth Social platform, which is held in a revocable trust.
12. What Is Passive Income, And How Do I Generate It Through Investing? – Yahoo Finance
Passive income is a source of income that requires little to no active effort, and investing can be a powerful tool for generating passive income.
Five top ways to make passive income are:
- Open a high-yield savings account or money market account
- Invest in the stock market
- Invest in real estate
- Lend out money on a peer-to-peer platform
- Purchase bonds
13. Czech Central Bank To Consider Holding Bitcoin As Reserve Asset – Reuters
The Czech National Bank will consider holding billions of dollars worth of bitcoin in its reserves, Governor Ales Michl said, potentially the first shift into the cryptocurrency by a western central bank if it went ahead.
Michl said the idea was still under analysis and no immediate decision was forthcoming. Since taking the helm of the Czech central bank in 2022, Michl has led a drive to diversify the bank’s hefty reserves through the gradual gold purchases and shifting a bigger share of the portfolio into equities to create sustained profits.
14. The Truth About Cannabis: Researchers From Largest Study On Its Effects On The Brain Have A Warning For Young Adults – Fortune Well
New research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus shows that heavy lifetime cannabis use may harm working memory in young adults.
In what the university calls the largest study of its kind, researchers used brain imaging technology to explore the effects of recent and lifetime cannabis use on brain function among more than 1,000 people ages 22 to 36. During a task assessing working memory—the short-term storage of information that can be applied to activities such as reasoning and problem-solving—the majority of recent (68%) and heavy lifetime (63%) cannabis users showed reduced brain activity. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
15. Want A Happier, More Fulfilling Life? 75-Year Harvard Study Says Focus On This 1 Thing – Medium
Harvard’s Grant and Glueck studies — which tracked 724 participants from varying walks of life over the course of 75 years — we’ve already uncovered the key to long-term happiness and fulfillment. The answer? Our Relationships
And true fulfillment in relationships is about genuine connection.One of the most efficient ways to form that connection is by practicing what we at Mindmaven call Positive Alacrity; a skill we define as creating micro-experiences that cause an emotional uplifting in others. So how do we do this? When you think something positive and you genuinely believe it, voice it.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
