Iran has agreed to sell surface-to-ground missiles and more drones to Russia for war with Ukraine, Reuters reported , citing two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats.
According to the agency, the parties entered into an agreement on the deal on October 6 – then an Iranian delegation headed by the country's first vice president Mohammad Mokhber arrived in Moscow for negotiations. The meeting was attended by two heads of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and a representative of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
“The Russians have been asking for more drones and Iranian ballistic missiles with improved accuracy, in particular those belonging to the Fateh and Zolfaghar family of missiles,” an Iranian diplomat told Reuters.
A Western official confirmed this information to the agency, saying that there is indeed an agreement between Iran and Russia on the supply of short-range ground-to-ground ballistic missiles. Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar are missiles that can hit targets at a distance of 300 to 700 km. Iranian representatives are also ready to supply Shahed-136 drones to Russia.
“Where the weapon is used is not the question of the seller. We do not take sides in the Ukrainian conflict like the West does. We want to end the crisis through diplomacy,” one Iranian diplomat said.
Earlier, The Washington Post reported that Iran and Russia discussed new clandestine supplies, citing US security sources. During the negotiations, according to the newspaper, Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar were also discussed.
Ukrainian authorities claimed that Russia had already used 2/3 of its stockpile of precision-guided missiles that it had at the start of the invasion. With stocks depleted and because the country can no longer produce the weapons it needs for the war, Russia is turning to Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyomo said .
On October 18, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba submitted a proposal to President Volodymyr Zelensky to cut off diplomatic relations with Iran “in view of the numerous destruction inflicted by Iranian drones on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, deaths and suffering caused to the people.” Since October 10, Russia has been carrying out mass shelling of Ukraine (including with the help of Iranian drones) practically without a break.
According to Kuleba, Kyiv will formally ask the Israeli government to provide air defense systems against Iranian drones.
