US report: Iran is planning to send missiles and drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war
US security officials and countries allied to Washington revealed that Iran has strengthened its commitment to supplying weapons to Russia for use in the attack on Ukraine.
Officials said Tehran had secretly agreed to send attack drones, as well as what some officials described as the first Iranian-made surface-to-surface missile intended for use against Ukrainian forces’ cities and positions, according to the Washington Post.
According to the report, the increased flow of weapons from Tehran could help offset what US President Joe Biden administration officials say have been heavy losses in Russian military equipment since Moscow invaded Ukraine last February, particularly the rapidly dwindling supplies of G-type guided munitions, used in Russian attacks against several Ukrainian cities over the past week.
In recent days, independent news websites have published pictures of the wreckage of what appears to be Iranian-made drones used to launch attacks against Ukrainian targets, which cast doubt on Iran’s repeated denials of news of supplying 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 Russia, Tehran dispatched officials to Moscow on September 18 to finalize terms for additional arms shipments, including two types of Iranian surface-to-surface missiles, according to several US officials and officials of a Washington ally.
It closely monitors Iranian weapons activity.
