Iran to send ballistic missiles to Russia for war against Ukraine
Iranian Fateh-110 surface-to-surface missile (Photo:Wikipedia)
Iran has secretly agreed to transfer not only attack drones to Russia, but also surface-to-surface ballistic missiles for the war against Ukraine, the Washington Post reported on Oct. 16, citing U.S. officials.
According to the newspaper, on Sept. 18, Tehran sent officials to Russia to finalize terms for additional arms shipments, including two types of surface-to-surface missiles.
Ukrainian and U.S. officials have seen intelligence reports that shows Iran is preparing the first batch of Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles, two short-range Iranian ballistic missiles. They are capable of striking targets at distances of 300 kilometers and 700 kilometers respectively, the Washington Post’s source said.
“Experts consider the latest versions of the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar to be both powerful and reasonably accurate over relatively short distances,” the newspaper writes. “Some models are equipped with electro-optical guidance systems, allowing missile operators to guide them during the final approach to the target.”
Iran has previously given the same missiles to Houthi fighters in Yemen. If the agreement is implemented, it will be the first delivery of these missiles to Russia since the start of a full-scale war against Ukraine.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Secretary, Oleksiy Danilov said that the time when Russia will run out of a critical number of its most accurate missiles is "already approaching." According to him, the invaders may have 25-28% of the total missile stock as of Feb. 24.
Earlier, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia could probably agree with Iran on the supply of Arash-2 drones.
On Sept. 23, Ukraine withdrew the accreditation of the Iranian ambassador due to the supply of drones to Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, citing intelligence, said that Russia ordered 2,400 Shahed kamikaze drones from Iran.
Later, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that Russian troops have about 300 Iranian-made drones. According to him, the invaders are trying to buy several thousand more.
Tehran has denied making deliveries of drones to Moscow, but these denials are false.
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