In exchange for drones, Russia sends Iran $140 million in cash and captured Western weapons, Sky News reports
Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone destroyed (Photo:t.me/andrii_nebytov)
Russia sent Iran $140 million in cash, along with captured UK- and U.S.-made weapons – in exchange for supplied kamikaze drones, UK TV channel Sky News reported on Nov. 8, citing an unnamed source in security services.
The source claims that on Aug. 20, Russian military aircraft landed in Tehran, delivering the cash, NLAW and Javelin anti-tank weapons, and Stinger portable air defense systems, which Russian troops captured in Ukraine. The weapons could help Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps examine and potentially reverse-engineer Western technology, the Sky News’ source said.
Sky News writes that in return, Iran handed over to Russia more than 160 UAVs, including 100 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. According to the same source, Russia and Iran recently struck another deal for the supply of drones, worth $200 million.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein-Amir Abdullahian admitted for the first time that Tehran handed over drones to Russia, but claimed that this happened before the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The United States refuted Iran’s claim and emphasized that Iran transferred drones to Russia in the summer of 2022, and also sent its military specialists to occupied Ukrainian territories to train Russian troops in operating Iranian-made equipment.
The head of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Russia could start using Iranian short-range ballistic missiles against Ukraine as early as November. Specifically, the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar SRBM missiles. Iran has already transferred Mohajer, Arash-1 and Arash-2, Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones to Russia.
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