Following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin finds himself in a difficult position. An old ideological and geopolitical ally has been killed with the full support of another anticipated ideological and geopolitical partner: U.S. President Donald Trump.

Moscow was hardly thrilled at the beginning of this year, when U.S. forces captured and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but Putin and the Kremlin refrained from harsh criticism at the time. In part, this was because of Washington’s framing of the attack in terms of the Trump doctrine: The Western Hemisphere belongs to the United States. Seen from the Kremlin, Trump’s actions in Latin America legitimize its own claim of a sphere of influence in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. And after all, capture and arrest fall short of assassination.

Following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin finds himself in a difficult position. An old ideological and geopolitical ally has been killed with the full support of another anticipated ideological and geopolitical partner: U.S. President Donald Trump.

Moscow was hardly thrilled at the beginning of this year, when U.S. forces captured and arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but Putin and the Kremlin refrained from harsh criticism at the time. In part, this was because of Washington’s framing of the attack in terms of the Trump doctrine: The Western Hemisphere belongs to the United States. Seen from the Kremlin, Trump’s actions in Latin America legitimize its own claim of a sphere of influence in Ukraine, Europe, and beyond. And after all, capture and arrest fall short of assassination.

The events in Iran, however, are taking place in what Russia considers its hemisphere and, to some extent, its sphere of influence—not only geographically, but because Iran is a member of the Russia- and China-led BRICS. This time, accordingly, there was no restraint on condemning the killing. In a message sent to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Putin said that the assassination of Khamenei and members of his family had been “committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law.”

Crucially, however, the message published on the Kremlin website was phrased in a way that avoided making direct accusations against Trump and the United States. Putin may flaunt his strength and play the role of a........

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