US security officials said in statements to the “Washington Post” published today, Sunday, that Iran is preparing to increase Supplies of heavy weapons to Russia “Sara”.
The officials, who were not identified by the newspaper, stated that Iran intends to send surface-to-surface missiles to Moscow for the first time, in addition to combat drones.
The newspaper pointed out that these supplies will help compensate for Russian weapons stocks, which Western intelligence assessments show have decreased rapidly in recent days.
Iran is strengthening its commitment to supplying weapons for the Russian attack on Ukraine, according to US security officials, as they secretly agreed to send not only attack drones but also what some officials described as the first Iranian-made surface-to-surface missiles intended for use.
The increased flow of weapons from Tehran could help offset what Biden administration officials say have been heavy losses in Russian military equipment since the invasion of Moscow in February, and a rapidly dwindling supply of precision-guided munitions of the kind used in last week’s strikes against Ukraine.
In recent days, independent news outlets have published pictures of the remnants of what appear to be Iranian-made drones used in strikes against Ukrainian targets, raising questions about Iran’s repeated denials that it supplied its ally Russia with such weapons.
Pentagon officials have also publicly confirmed the use of Iranian drones in Russian air strikes, as well as Ukraine’s success in shooting down some of the drones.
In an apparent reference to Iran’s expanded role as a military supplier to Moscow, Tehran sent officials to Russia on September 18 to finalize terms for additional arms shipments, including two types of Iranian surface-to-surface missiles, according to US officials.
An intelligence assessment shared in recent days with Ukrainian and American officials confirms that the Iranian arms industry is preparing for a first shipment of the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar, two well-known Iranian short-range ballistic missiles capable of striking targets at distances of 300 and 700 kilometers, respectively.
According to two officials familiar with the matter. If the deal goes through, it will be the first delivery of such missiles to Russia since the start of the war.