Russia provides Iran with $140 million in cash and confiscated Western weaponry in exchange for the drones
Russia provided Iran with $140 million in cash, as well as captured British and American weapons, in return for supplied kamikaze drones, according to Sky News, citing an anonymous source in intelligence services.
According to the source, on August 20, Russian military planes landed in Tehran, carrying cash, NLAW and Javelin anti-tank missiles, and Stinger portable air defense systems acquired by Russian forces in Ukraine. According to a Sky News source, the weaponry might let Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps evaluate and even reverse-engineer Western technologies.
If advanced Western weapons end up in the hands of the Russian and Iranian military-industrial complexes, it might lead to the appearance of future copied weaponry in the Ukraine war. Countries in the Middle East, particularly Israel, where Iran has traditionally had significant influence, may be under threat. Furthermore, if these weapons are utilized by extremist Islamists who may be controlled by Iran, EU nations may be attacked. Russia can exploit Western complexes or parts for provocations on its own.
According to Sky News, in exchange, Iran gave over more than 160 UAVs to Russia, including 100 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. According to the same source, Russia and Iran recently negotiated another $200 million contract for the sale of drones.
Previously, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein-Amir Abdullahian revealed for the first time that Tehran had given over drones to Russia, but maintained that this occurred before the launch of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But we can now clearly state that the Iranian minister is twisting the facts.
The US denied Iran’s assertion, emphasizing that Iran sent drones to Russia in the summer of 2022 and that it also dispatched military experts to seize Ukrainian territory to instruct Russian forces on how to use Iranian-made weapons.
Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, stated that Russia might begin launching Iranian short-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine as early as November. The Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar SRBM missiles, in particular. Iran has previously handed to Russia the Mohajer, Arash-1 and Arash-2, Shahed-131, and Shahed-136 drones.
