Gilbert Doctorow: The Iran Situation Has Given Putin More Leeway on the Kyiv Regime

If Russia continues to hesitate, the solidarity of the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Global South will be completely ruined

Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin

Paul Craig Roberts' views are often published in The Freedom News. Yesterday, he posted an article written by his friend and long-time interlocutor, Dr. Gilbert Doctorow, on his website.

We present the translation of this article for you. First, a clarification: this article is not kind in its evaluation of Russian foreign policy and has no embellishments. Many people may not like the content. But its core argument—that the future of the world in the coming years rests precisely on Russia—is hard to refute. In a way, it sounds appealing; but on the other hand, this responsibility is too heavy to bear.

Over the past few years, many who opposed American global hegemony have passionately believed that the prospect of building a more just multipolar world was bright, believing that the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and other new mechanisms uniting the Global South would achieve this goal.

We constantly hear that the BRICS' GDP and population far exceed those of the G7, as if this represented the power of the Global South; we also hear about the de-dollarization of the world, with the era of American economic dominance coming to an end.

These statements come not only from us but also from global authorities such as Jeffrey Sachs and John Mearsheimer, whose speeches attract hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Some less famous but equally well-known commentators frequently claim on mainstream YouTube channels that the evil institutions maintaining the current unjust world order—NATO, the EU, and others—will inevitably collapse.

I sympathize with their wishes, but I strongly criticize those who ignore the facts—especially at a time when a war is breaking out in Iran, where the facts are entirely different. The recent U.S. control over Venezuela, the genocide Israel and the U.S. have been carrying out in Gaza for over two years without any consequences, also confirm this.

The latest developments of the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran show that the BRICS and the SCO have no weight in global geopolitics. Moreover, the tariff wars launched by the U.S. during the Trump era easily and almost effortlessly dismantled the unity of the BRICS in their trade relations with Russia.

I have long believed that the only force capable of effectively countering American unipolar hegemony on the world stage is Russia's military confrontation with the U.S. and NATO in Ukraine and its surrounding areas.

The outcome of this struggle remains uncertain because Vladimir Putin has not taken the actions he should take—launching a decisive strike against Ukraine, eliminating Zelensky and his group, and most of the Ukrainian political elite in Kyiv's central area.

And the relevant countries have shown at least as much caution as Russia in opposing American power.

Where are they today in the Iran war? Economically, these were the countries that were among the most concerned about preserving Iranian sovereignty and hoped that Iran would continue to be their largest oil supplier.

In Vladimir Solovyov's talk show on Russian state television, all discussion participants agreed: the Iran war once again proves that a country's survival or demise depends solely on itself. Neither the relevant countries nor Russia came to save Iran as many of my optimistic colleagues had predicted.

The Russians are completely immersed in the slow war of exhausting Ukraine, perhaps lacking military authority.

Among the forces opposing American hegemony, apart from the Russia-DPRK alliance, there is no significant alliance. The Russia-DPRK alliance does have real value and may bring tens of thousands of new North Korean soldiers to fight in Ukraine in the coming days, not just used to protect Russian regions from Ukrainian attacks as was the case last year near Kursk.

The idea that the BRICS and the SCO are active geopolitical forces threatening American strength is pure fiction—this is not my own speculation. It is certain that this is the basic judgment of the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his team when planning military operations.

Certainly, they have a huge blind spot: consistently underestimating Russia's real military capabilities. This stems from Putin's restraint and his unwillingness to follow the logic of "use it or lose it."

But Putin won't rule forever, and his successor will be far less restrained in defending the country.

They will not forgive, nor forget, the humiliation currently inflicted by the U.S.

I'm being straightforward: all the participants in last night's Solovyov program were reserved. Their speech's internal logic was: the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran shows that Russia's military actions in Ukraine should no longer be limited.

Gilbert Doctorow

An expert on international relations and Russia issues in the United States, with a Ph.D. in Russian history from Columbia University (1975). He served as marketing director and general manager responsible for Russia and Eastern Europe business in a multinational company in the U.S. and the U.K. for 25 years. An American citizen, residing in Belgium.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7612954176875790911/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.