‘If Iran falls, we’re next’: Putin's hardliners' fears

Donald Trump’s attack on Iran has jolted Russia’s nationalist elite, shattering hopes that his return to the White House might favour Moscow and prompting calls for Vladimir Putin to escalate the war in Ukraine.

What some once saw as a transactional dealmaker now looks, to Russian hawks, like a direct threat.

From Quiet Optimism to Open Alarm

When Trump was re-elected, parts of Moscow’s security establishment believed his scepticism of NATO and appetite for strongman diplomacy could benefit Russia.

The Iran strikes have upended that calculus. Nationalist tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev branded the US “a threat to the entire world”, questioning why Moscow should trust Washington in peace talks over Ukraine.

War blogger Boris Rozhin, known as “Colonel Cassad”, called Trump a “monster” and warned that counting on agreements with him was “either foolishness or treason”.

Pressure on the Kremlin to Double Down

Some hawks are urging the Kremlin to abandon US-brokered negotiations with Kyiv and intensify the war effort instead. They argue the US-Iran nuclear diplomacy that preceded the strikes shows Washington cannot be trusted.

Ultra-nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin delivered the starkest warning: “If Iran collapses, we’re next.”

The rhetoric reflects unease that Russia, bogged down in Ukraine, is unable to shield its allies as the Soviet Union once did.

Putin’s Delicate Balancing Act

The Kremlin has condemned the strikes as “unprovoked aggression” but avoided attacking Trump personally. Moscow still hopes he might shape a Ukraine settlement on terms favourable to Russia.

For now, Vladimir Putin appears determined to keep channels open, even as his domestic critics demand confrontation.

Silver Linings — and Strategic Fears

Some officials see potential upside. Rising oil prices could ease budget strain, and prolonged Middle East conflict might divert US arms and attention away from Ukraine.

Yet hardliners see a darker pattern: the toppling of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, the seizure of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, and now Iran’s leadership in the firing line.

To them, Trump is not retrenching America’s power. He is wielding it — and Russia could one day be next.

Trump's Iran attack rattles Russian hardliners who call for Putin to double down on war in Ukraine