Russia-Iran Ties: A Necessary Evil?

[Opinion] Moscow's rapprochement with its regional ally are inevitable as instability widens. The Persian state is bordered effectively by four war zones. The first is Turkey whereby Ankara appears in have been drawn this December into a "mini guerrilla war "with the Kurds on its southeastern border. Furthermore, the other three: Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan are all in a big-bloody mess to say the least. Iraq has begun to decompose and is headed for a de facto partition along sectarian-religious lines. Afghanistan risks "rollback" in the form of a Taliban revival and return to power of the Mullahs and Imams. Moreover, nuke equipped and civil- war prone Pakistan is on the verge of an Islamist takeover which would make the 1979" Iranian revolution" look like a kindergarten- tea party by comparison.