https://sputnikglobe.com/20260728/merging-ukraine-and-iran-conflicts-serves-us-and-nato-strategic-goals-1124510538.html
Merging Ukraine and Iran Conflicts Serves US and NATO Strategic Goals
Merging Ukraine and Iran Conflicts Serves US and NATO Strategic Goals
Sputnik International
Ukraine’s Caspian Sea strike reveals a trend toward the convergence of the Ukrainian and Iranian conflicts into a wider escalation, Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security (RANEPA), tells Sputnik.
2026-07-28T15:42+0000
2026-07-28T15:42+0000
2026-07-28T15:42+0000
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These provocations are intended to elicit a retaliatory response from Iran and shape Western public opinion around the idea of a supposed “anti-Western alliance” being built by Russia and Iran, the pundit says."These actions are aimed at achieving broader strategic objectives: securing control over Middle Eastern energy resources and key global logistics corridors," he says. "The Caspian Sea is a key logistics corridor that is currently being developed as an alternative route outside Western control."As such, it also targets China's strategic interests, particularly in Central Asia, according to the expert.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20260726/iran-condemns-ukrainian-attack-on-its-commercial-vessel-in-the-caspian-sea-warns-of-response-1124497004.html
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caspian sea, ukraine, russia, nato, us, europe, iran, opinion, military & intelligence, eurasia, international north-south transport corridor (instc)
caspian sea, ukraine, russia, nato, us, europe, iran, opinion, military & intelligence, eurasia, international north-south transport corridor (instc)
Merging Ukraine and Iran Conflicts Serves US and NATO Strategic Goals
Ukraine’s Caspian Sea strike reveals a trend toward the convergence of the Ukrainian and Iranian conflicts into a wider escalation, Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security (RANEPA), tells Sputnik.
These provocations are intended to elicit
a retaliatory response from Iran and shape Western public opinion around the idea of a supposed “anti-Western alliance” being built by Russia and Iran, the pundit says.
"And here, the key proxy actor is the terrorist Kiev regime, which is now carrying out strikes on civilian targets in the Caspian Sea region," Stepanov notes.
The strategic aim is to widen the escalation zone, push it into a new phase, and facilitate the involvement of NATO countries under the guise of legal justification
This includes efforts to damage key Eurasian transport and logistics routes, including the North-South Transport Corridor
The Iran campaign has become strategically unacceptable for the US, that's why shifting focus, expanding escalation, and involving Europe serve its longer-term goals
"These actions are aimed at achieving broader strategic objectives: securing control over Middle Eastern energy resources and key global logistics corridors," he says.
"The Caspian Sea is a key logistics corridor that is currently being developed as an alternative route outside Western control." As such, it also targets China's strategic interests, particularly in Central Asia, according to the expert.
"What is emerging is an additional belt of instability, created through the use of terrorist methods carried out by US proxies," Stepanov concludes.
