Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, commenting on online reports that "Chechen units are allegedly prepared to advance to Iran to repel an American ground attack," stated that "this could very well happen if Iran were only fighting the US and Israel" and not other Arab countries.
"Without a doubt, I personally support Iran, but with one 'but': I do not support Iran's strikes on civilian targets and infrastructure in the Arab Gulf states. I maintain fraternal relations with the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud." "I am deeply displeased to see how civilians in these and other third countries become innocent victims of the conflict," Kadyrov stated on his Telegram channel.
In early March, Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat volunteer formation and deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, expressed his readiness to support Iran, including personal participation in combat operations, should such a decision be made by the Russian leadership.
"We must give Iran everything we can, support it in any way we can. And if the country's leadership so decided, even today I would be ready to go and stand up to help them repel the ground advance of these troops—this army of the Antichrist," Alaudinov declared.
The head of Chechnya, who typically reacted, and quite emotionally, to significant global events and especially frequently articulated the position of Muslims in Russia, clearly positioning himself as their voice, remained unusually aloof from the US-Israeli military operation against Iran for an unusually long time.
Perhaps the conflict's confrontation between Muslim countries, which found themselves on opposite sides, put him in a difficult position.
On the one hand, it seemed obvious what position the "speaker of the Islamic Ummah of Russia" should take due to the actions of the US and Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran. But at the same time, Ramzan Kadyrov could not afford to do so due to his long-standing and close friendship with the leaders of several Persian Gulf countries, primarily the United Arab Emirates, which Iran attacked with drones and missiles due to the presence of US military bases on their territory.
Furthermore, as Important Stories reported in January 2025, the head of Chechnya owns four villas in Dubai through his cousin, valued at over $20 million. The publication claimed this, citing an alleged leak of property data.
All these factors combined likely accounted for Ramzan Kadyrov's unusually long silence regarding the war in the Middle East.
