RUSSIA KNOWS IRAN'S INFLUENCE TO INCREASE

"... Moscow has hurriedly scheduled an intensive strategic dialogue with Tehran... The geopolitical reality is that Iran's regional influence is poised to increase. The West's quagmire in Libya and the collapse of its attempts to overthrow the Syrian regime; Turkey's lurch toward Muslim Middle East and the breakdown in its relations with Israel; the collapse of the US-Israeli-Saudi axis and the surge of the Syrian-Iranian axis; US predicaments in Iraq and Afghanistan; Egypt-Iran rapprochement; high probability of UN recognition for Palestinian statehood; and not least of all, China's determination to build a strategic partnership with Iran - all these work to Tehran's advantage..."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/MH04Ag01.html