Russia is attempting to acquire high-tech Iranian missiles and drones for use in combat, officials in the West and Ukraine have warned. (Putin’s top security )
Increasing evidence suggests that advanced Iranian weapons are being used on Ukrainian battlefields, prompting the Kremlin’s top security adviser to arrive in Tehran late Tuesday.
The head of Russia’s National Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, paid a routine visit to discuss joint projects, according to state news agencies in both Russia and Iran.
According to a report published by Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, “Patrushev will hold regular Russian-Iranian security consultations in Tehran.” (Putin’s top security )
The most recent high-ranking Russian official to visit Iran since the outbreak of the war is Mr. Patrushev, a hardline ally of President Vladimir V. Putin. His visit comes at a time when officials from the West and Ukraine are warning that Russia is trying to get Iranian precision-guided missiles and drones in order to improve its falling military power in Ukraine.
According to these officials, Russia has been forced to turn to its few remaining allies, such as Iran and North Korea, to try to counter the flood of Western military hardware that is going to Ukraine as a result of the prolonged war, which has destroyed Russia’s weapon stocks. The Pentagon stated last week that North Korea is providing Russia with a “significant number” of artillery shells covertly. The rumors have been denied by North Korea.
Iran, on the other hand, has stated that it intends to provide Russia with ballistic missiles. Since the beginning of the war, it has also denied selling attack drones. However, their wreckage has been found numerous times in Ukraine, and Iranian security services-affiliated social media accounts have boasted of their use there.
Despite the fact that advanced Western air-defense systems have enabled the Ukrainians to partially neutralize Russian rockets and drones, officials warn that Iranian ballistic missiles pose little threat. (Putin’s top security )
Maj. The head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence directorate, Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, has stated that Iranian missile deliveries may occur by the end of November.
In a recent interview with the War Zone, an online military publication, he stated, “It’s a serious threat because Iranian missiles, unlike Russian ones, are quite high-precision, very high-speed, and those features have been battle-proven.”
There are concerns that Iran’s growing involvement in Ukraine could increase tensions with Washington because Iranian weapons have played a significant role in Tehran’s proxy conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
“We will do what we can to illuminate that when we see Iranian ballistic missiles being used on the battlefield in Ukraine,” a Pentagon spokesman, Brig.Gen. Pat Ryder, said on Tuesday. (Putin’s top security )
Anatoly Kurmanaev is a Mexico City-based correspondent who covers Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. He reported from Caracas for eight years on Venezuela and the region around it before joining the Mexico bureau in 2021.
