Zolfaghar ballistic missile. (Tasnim News)
Iran has provided Russia with hundreds of surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, Reuters reported on February 21, citing different sources.
Three Iranian sources told the news agency that Russia received 400 missiles, many from the Fateh-110 family of short-range ballistic weapons, including the Zolfaghar. This road-mobile missile is capable of striking targets at a distance of between 300 and 700 kilometers and has pinpoint accuracy.
The shipments began in early January after a deal was finalized in meetings late last year between Iranian and Russian military and security officials that took place in Tehran and Moscow, according to one of the sources.
An Iranian military official told Reuters that there have been at least four shipments of missiles and there would be more in the coming weeks.
Another official said that some of the missiles were sent to Russia by ship via the Caspian Sea, while others were transported by plane.
“There will be more shipments,” the second Iranian official said. “There is no reason to hide it. We are allowed to export weapons to any country that we wish to.”
A fourth source confirmed that Russia had received a large number of missiles from Iran recently, without providing further details.
Meanwhile, a United States official told the news agency that Washington had seen evidence of talks actively advancing but no indication yet of deliveries having taken place. The official’s remarks cast some serious doubts on the claims made by the alleged Iranian officials.
What adds to the doubts is the fact that there have been no reports of the Russian military using any type of Iranian-made missiles in the special military operation zone in Ukraine.
Military cooperation between Russia and Iran grew after the start of the special military operation. Both the U.S. and Ukraine claim that Iran has been supplying Russian with suicide drones, namely the Shahed-131 and 136, which has a range of 900 kilometers and over 2,000 kilometers respectively.
Nevertheless, Tehran denies this and Moscow says that its military uses homegrown suicide drones, dubbed the Geran-1 and 2.
Reuter’s report came amid reports of a new push in the U.S. to supply Ukraine with ATACMS ballistic missiles, which are capable of targeting the Crimean Peninsula and its bridge from Ukrainian territory as they have a range of up to 500 kilometers.
It also came as the U.S. continued to provide support for Israel -the main foe of Iran- in its war on the Gaza Strip, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 29,000 Palestinians.
Taking this and the fact that Russia already produces a highly-effective short-range ballistic missile, the Iskander, into account, it is possible that the report is an attempt to justify the supply of more advanced weapons to Ukraine and the continuation of unconditional support for Israel.
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