A new report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says that Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev is on an official visit to Iran. His trip was most likely made to ” discuss the potential sale of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.”
The Nour news agency stated that Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had invited Patrushev to visit Tehran to discuss the shipment of the ballistic missiles.
Russian officials tried to conceal Patrushev’s visit, but it became known to the media. Petrushev will hold planned Russian-Iranian meetings on security issues with specialists from security councils and representatives of several ministries and agencies of the two states, the Iranian media reported.
The arrival of Patrushev in Iran was announced by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council to “demonstrate to an international (rather than domestic) audience the deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, as well as to make it indirectly clear that a high-ranking Russian official is seeking Iranian assistance in connection with the events in Ukraine.”
Iran has already approached Russia for assistance with its nuclear program exploiting Russia’s reliance on Iranian-made kamikaze drones that it’s using in the war against Ukraine.
During this visit, Petrushev and his delegation will likely negotiate the transfer of intermediate-range surface-to-surface missiles to Russia.
The Kremlin is still attempting to purchase weapons covertly for use in its war against Ukraine to mitigate the effects of international sanctions and cope with the decline of domestic weapons production.
Russia handed to Iran seized Western weapons
U.S. experts cite British media reports that Russia has handed over a seized shipment of Western weapons to Iran. These weapons were reportedly seized in the war in Ukraine.
According to a security source quoted by Sky News, Iran sold to Russia hundreds of drones for its war in Ukraine in exchange for 140 million euros in cash and a stock of seized British and American weapons from Russia.
