Netanyahu: Russia aiding Iran's antisemitic bot networks, acting against Israeli interests

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s and Russia’s interests have clashed several times recently, and that Moscow has also taken steps against Israel, during a Sunday presentation of Israel’s national security doctrine.

“Russia’s cooperation with Iran is something that runs counter to its interests, as does the existence of bot networks conducting a campaign against the State of Israel with the most blatant antisemitism imaginable,” Netanyahu said in response to a question from The Jerusalem Post. “We raise all these issues with them, and we do so very clearly,” the prime minister added.

Netanyahu said that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin “speak when necessary.”

“Russia has its own interests, and the State of Israel has its interests, and they do not always overlap. Sometimes they even clash,” Netanyahu said. “That is why I always try to pursue our shared interests to the fullest extent possible. If that is not possible, you stand by your own interests and fight to defend them.”

The prime minister also stressed that Russia understands that there are shared interests that could be jeopardized, for example, if an Islamist Iran were to become a nuclear power.

“My assessment, and I do not want to speak on behalf of others, is that, given the Muslim population within Russia itself, Iran would also seek to turn elements within that population into its agents. This is because Iran holds extreme ideological views concerning the conquest of the world, the subjugation of all Muslims to its doctrine, and the imposition of that doctrine on all nonbelievers,” Netanyahu said.

Russia's growing military cooperation with Iran emerging as significant concern for Israel

Russia’s growing military cooperation with Iran has emerged as a significant concern for Israel, particularly amid reports that Moscow is helping Tehran strengthen its military capabilities, improve its drone and missile technology, and obtain intelligence that could support attacks against American and allied forces in the Middle East.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published a report saying Russia has continued providing Iran with military equipment and components. A report published in August, citing a European government document and a Western official, said that Russian shipments to Iran via the Caspian Sea included drone components, ammunition and explosives. As of July, more than two dozen Russian vessels reportedly transported cargo to Iran’s Amirabad port.

A Reuters investigation reported in July that US intelligence officials were examining whether Russia had provided Iran with targeting information or technology that improved the accuracy and resistance to jamming of Iranian Shahed drones. 

Russia has spent years producing and upgrading Iranian-designed Shahed drones for use in its war against Ukraine.

During the almost five years of war in Ukraine, Russian engineers have gained extensive experience in improving their performance and adapting them to evade air defenses.

Ukrainian President Zelensky and other Officials have warned that technological improvements developed during the Ukraine war could now benefit Iran, potentially making its drones more difficult to intercept.