On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin to visit Iran. He was there to attend a conference of the Caspian Sea nations. At the meeting, he declared, “No [Caspian] nations should offer their territory to outside powers for aggression or any military action against any of the Caspian states.” This comment was directed mainly to the president of Azerbaijan—where there has been talk of U.S. use of airfields in the event of military strikes against Iran.

Toward the end of the summit, the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan signed a document stating they would not allow a foreign aggressor to use their nations to stage an attack against any other Caspian nation.

The Soviet Union may have broken up 17 years ago, but Russia still exerts considerable influence over its former republics. Stratfor reports that Putin has made it clear “Russia can dictate the parameters of acceptable behavior to at least the countries around the Caspian and, by logical extension, in the former Soviet Union” (October 17).

Not only does Putin oppose U.S. military intervention in Iran, he has made it clear that Russia will prevent any Caspian state from participating in any such intervention.

The Trumpethas reported: “Driving Moscow’s aspirations for relations with Tehran is Russia’s and Iran’s quest to marginalize, if not eradicate, American influence from their respective regions.”

Watch America’s enemies continue to ally against it in this region and beyond. For more information on this dangerous trend, read “War on America.”