The commander of Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces, Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, said he is ready to give Iran all the weapons he has and go to fight on the side of the Islamic Republic if such a decision is made by the Russian leadership.
He published a video statement announcing his desire to fight in Iran on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.
In the address, Alaudinov said that a ‘very difficult situation’ has developed in Iran and called for supporting the country.
‘We must give Iran everything we can give and support it in every possible way’, he said.
Alaudinov noted that if the Russian authorities make the relevant decision, he is ready ‘even today’ to go to Iran and take part in combat operations. According to him, he is prepared to help allies repel a possible ground advance of American troops.
In the same address, the commander of the Akhmat special forces said that, with ‘99% probability’, US President Donald Trump is the ‘Antichrist’. Alaudinov also said that countries supporting the military operation against Iran, in his words, ‘support the Antichrist’. He also stated that, in his view, the US and its allies ‘bring blood and death’.
Alaudinov also said that, in his opinion, after Iran the next target of the US could be Russia.
‘If they manage to finish off Iran now, we will definitely be next after Iran’, he said.
In his address, Alaudinov also mentioned Western support for Ukraine. He said that for four years NATO states, including the US, have been supplying weapons to Ukraine for the war against Russia.
‘For four years now we have been killed by American missiles, American weapons, European weapons, and Israeli weapons as well’, he said.
Alaudinov serves as the commander of the Akhmat special forces unit, which was formed in Chechnya and takes part in combat operations in Ukraine on the side of Russian forces. He is also the deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.
On 28 February 2026, Trump announced the start of a large-scale military operation against Iran. On the same day, the US and Israel carried out strikes on targets on Iranian territory. According to statements by the Iranian authorities, the attacks targeted military infrastructure and several other facilities. In response, Iran reported missile strikes on American military installations in the Middle East. The confrontation is ongoing. During the incident, vessels in the Persian Gulf and off the coast of Oman have also been attacked.
Russia and Iran have in recent years developed political and military cooperation. The two countries have coordinated on a number of international issues and supported the government of Bashar al-Assad during the war in Syria. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries repeatedly accused Iran of supplying Russia with drones and other military equipment. Iranian and Russian authorities have said that cooperation between the two countries is lawful and covers various areas, including the economy and security.
