In addition to the thousands of drones purchased from Iran, late last year the Russian Federation agreed to purchase additional military goods worth about $2 billion.
Western intelligence believes that the Russian Federation has provided Iran with modern Su-35 fighters and S-400 air defense systems in exchange for Shahed UAVs and missiles. The Wall Street Journal reports this.
There is no public evidence that the Su-35s have yet been dispatched. As a representative of US and Middle Eastern intelligence, who knows the deal in detail, explained, the corresponding delay may be due to the fact that payment for the aircraft has not been made.
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In 2007, Tehran signed an agreement to purchase the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system, but Moscow decided to delay the supply of weapons under pressure from the United States and European countries. The self-imposed ban ended in 2016.
Since then, Iran has tried to acquire the powerful S-400 system from Russia. It was not publicly known whether Moscow had decided to provide S-400 batteries. Some variants of these systems are equipped with radars that can defeat the stealth technology used by modern military aircraft. Russia has deployed such systems to protect its military bases in Syria. These batteries pose a potentially lethal threat to US and Israeli military aircraft that occasionally operate in Syrian airspace.
Iran separately agreed to sell surface-to-surface missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine. Arms transfers are expected to begin soon, according to a new intelligence assessment. There is no evidence that the missiles have already been delivered, officials said.
The production of armed drones has become a joint venture between the two countries, according to intelligence officials. Iran’s provision of drones to Russia was initially an attempt by Tehran to help its ally plug a hole in its military campaign against Ukraine. Russia, which had few combat drones at the beginning of the war, began using two types of Iranian-made Shahed drones in the fall of 2022: Shahed-131 and Shahed-136.
Intelligence officials believe Moscow also benefits from the cooperation. In addition to the thousands of drones purchased from Iran, late last year the Russian Federation agreed to purchase additional military goods worth about $2 billion. Among them are anti-drone systems, which have become a top priority for Russian generals in Ukraine.
Recall that on April 16, NBC News reported that US officials expect that Israel’s possible response to Iran’s attack over the weekend will be limited in scope. This will likely include attacks on Iranian military forces and supported proxies outside the country.
