Following Putin’s visit to Tehran in July, Iran offered to assist Russia with avoiding those sanctions by using its so-called “dark” fleet of oil tankers.

In return, Moscow agreed an arms deal with Iran, including the purchase of 2,400 Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.

These Iranian kamikaze drones are now at the forefront of Vladimir Putin’s attempts to wreak havoc against Ukraine, with their participation all the more important because the Russian military is running low on stockpiles of its conventional missiles. Nor is Iran’s involvement likely to be confined to providing drones.