Mojtaba’s First Big Victory? Putin Breaks Sanctions Wall, Rushes Aid To Iran Amid War Crisis | Gulf

Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry says it has sent 13 tonnes of humanitarian medical aid to Iran on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, using an Il-76 aircraft to deliver the supplies to Azerbaijan for onward transfer to Iranian authorities. The shipment, reported by Anadolu and echoed in Russian diplomatic messaging, makes Moscow one of the first countries publicly known to have sent aid to Iran since the U.S.-Israel war began on February 28. The move is politically significant because it allows Russia to cast itself as a humanitarian supporter of Tehran even as Western powers are divided over how far to keep pressuring Moscow. That split has widened after the Trump administration issued a one-month waiver on U.S. sanctions to allow certain Russian oil cargoes already stranded at sea to be purchased, despite reported hesitation from Germany, France and the UK. The result is a striking contrast: Russia is sending medicine to Iran, while the West is arguing among itself over whether Trump’s temporary relief on Russian oil weakens the broader sanctions campaign against Moscow.