Wade was assisted by events in western Afghanistan, where the last bastion of Sadozai rule in Herat was about to be besieged by the Persians. Since the British had failed to come to the assistance of the Persians in the 1826–7 Russo-Persian War, the Persians had concluded that it was wiser to hug their Russian enemy close than entertain any further flirtations with the British, who had proved unwilling to risk outright war with Russia in their support.
