Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries. Iran’s provision of around 400 missiles includes many from the Fateh-110 family of short-range ballistic weapons, such as the Zolfaghar, which can strike targets at a distance of between 300 and 700 km (186 and 435 miles). The shipments began in early January after a deal was finalized in meetings late last year between Iranian and Russian military and security officials that took place in Tehran and Moscow.
U.S. President Joe Biden said there will be more shipments, as “there is no reason to hide it. We are allowed to export weapons to any country that we wish to.” U.N. Security Council restrictions on Iran’s export of some missiles, drones, and other technologies expired in October. However, the United States and European Union retained sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile programme amid concerns over exports of weapons to its proxies in the Middle East and to Russia.
A Ukrainian military source told Reuters that Kyiv had not registered any use of Iranian ballistic missiles by Russian forces in the conflict. A spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force told national television that it had no official information on Russia obtaining such missiles. He said that ballistic missiles would pose a serious threat to Ukraine.
Former Ukrainian defence minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk said that Russia wanted to supplement its missile arsenal at a time when delays in approving a major package of U.S. military aid in Congress have left Ukraine short of ammunition and other material. “The lack of U.S. support means shortages of ground-based air defense in Ukraine. So they want to accumulate a mass of rockets and break through Ukrainian air defense,” said Zagorodnyuk, who chairs the Kyiv-based Centre for Defense Strategies, a security think tank.
Kyiv has repeatedly asked Tehran to stop supplying Shahed drones to Russia, which have become a staple of Moscow’s long-range assaults on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, along with an array of missiles. Iran initially denied supplying drones to Russia, but months later it said it had provided a small number before Moscow launched the war on Ukraine in 2022.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based think tank, said a supply of Fateh-100 and Zolfaghar missiles from Iran would hand Russia an even greater advantage on the battlefield.
Iran’s hardline clerical rulers have been focusing on strengthening ties with Russia and China to resist U.S. sanctions and end political isolation. Defense cooperation between Iran and Russia has increased since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. In September, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force head, Amirali Hajizadeh, in Tehran, where Iran’s drones, missiles, and air defense systems were displayed. Russia’s foreign ministry expects President Vladimir Putin and Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi to sign a new cooperation treaty soon.
The stakes are high for Iran’s clerical rulers amid the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and growing dissent at home over economic woes and social restrictions. Iran’s Axis of Resistance allies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, have attacked Israeli and U.S. targets. Western nations are concerned that Russia’s reciprocal transfer of weapons to Iran could strengthen its position in any possible conflict with the United States and Israel. Iran has finalized arrangements for Russia to provide it with Su-35 fighter jets, Mi-28 attack helicopters, and Yak-130 pilot training aircraft.
(Reuters)
