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A member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee acknowledged on September 8 that Iran had transferred ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani claimed during an interview with the Iranian website Didban Iran that Iran was trading missiles and drones to Russia in exchange for “soybeans and wheat” while downplaying the threat of sanctions that the United States and European nations pledged to impose on Tehran for providing missiles to Russia. “It can’t get any worse than it already is,” Ardestani said. Pointing out that Iran provides missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, he asked rhetorically: “So why not Russia?”
U.S. and European intelligence officials have said in recent days that Iran had delivered hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia for the first time during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal reported on the delivery of the missiles on September 6, citing unnamed U.S. officials. “Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and lead to the killing of more Ukrainian civilians,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.” Less than 24 hours before Ardestani’s statement, Iran denied the reports from U.S. officials, with Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani telling the state-affiliated Islamic Republic News Agency that the claims “are completely baseless.”
On August 9, Reuters reported that Iran was prepared to send a shipment of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles to Russia imminently, citing two European intelligence sources, and intended to also provide Russia with close-range Ababil missiles. The report also stated that dozens of Russian military personnel were receiving training in Iran. The Fath-360 is a solid-fuel ballistic missile with a claimed range of approximately 75 miles, and Ukraine’s limited aerial defense systems continue to be stressed by Russia’s aerial attack campaign.
Expert Analysis
“Clearly, Tehran feels undeterred. If the regime perceived it had more to lose than to gain from this transfer, the delivery would not have gone through. Short- and close-range Iranian ballistic missiles are among Tehran’s more accurate battlefield weapons. These weapons will keep Putin in the fight longer and allow him to strike Ukrainian and Western resolve and capabilities.” — Behnam Ben Taleblu, FDD Senior Fellow
“If true, this marks a significant step forward in Russian-Iranian military-technical cooperation and could prove useful for Russia in Ukraine. The specific system mentioned by media reports, the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, has limited range but could provide Russia with greater magazine depth for shorter-range strikes while allowing Moscow to conserve its longer-range missiles for deeper strikes. As Iran continues to augment Russia’s precision-strike capacity, it’s long past time for Washington to let Ukraine take the gloves off with ATACMS strikes.” — John Hardie, Deputy Director of FDD’s Russia Program
“During the Cold War, Soviet military technology transfers to North Korea, China, and Iran, either by Moscow or third parties, gave each recipient a jump start in their domestic defense industries. Now that those industries have matured, all three regimes are providing critical technologies or the weapons themselves to sustain Russia’s War on Ukraine. The Kremlin is reaping the rewards of investments made decades ago.” — Lydia LaFavor, FDD Research Fellow
Russia-Iran Military Cooperation
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Tehran has provided Moscow with thousands of drones while seeking advanced military equipment in return. Russia and Iran have also coordinated to harass American forces in Syria while Iranian proxies have attacked U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria over 170 times as part of a joint effort to drive the United States out of the region. Military ties between Russia and Iran have grown closer in recent years, marked by visits between Iranian and Russian defense officials and the signing of security cooperation agreements.
Source » fdd