Iran's arms gift to Putin spreads fear

Russia's invasion of Ukraine Iran's gift to Putin spreads anxiety in Ukraine 

 

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Emil Forsberg 

 

Published: Less than 3 hours ago 

 

Updated: Less than 30 min ago 

 

NEWS 

 

Russia's ammunition shortage may soon be remedied. 

 

Iran plans to send loads of weapons and "kamikaze drones" to support Putin, according to the Washington Post.

 

One of the gifts that could be a hard blow for Ukraine is the ground goal robot Zolfaghar. 

 

Russia is becoming increasingly dependent on support from other countries as its weapons stockpile shrinks, US intelligence agencies say. 

 

It has previously been reported that the neighboring country of Belarus sent tons of ammunition via train - and now there is information that Iran is also on its way to supplying Russia with weapons. 

 

According to the Washington Post, Iran is preparing a first delivery of the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ground-targeting robots. 

 

The robots have a range of 300 and 700 kilometers, respectively, and give whoever fires them an opportunity to guide them to the target, according to Farzin Nadimi, an expert on Iranian weapons. 

 

The ground target robot Zolfaghar. Photo: Vahid Salemi / AP 

 

The vessels on the wish list 

 

The information comes from the same secret defense source that revealed in August that Iran sent attack drones to help Russia. The drones have done great damage to both people and infrastructure in Ukraine and the new delivery means another escalation, according to Nadimi. 

 

 - The development from drones to ground-target robots means that Russia gets more options and much more power, says the expert who works at the Washington-based think tank Washington Institute for Near East Policy to the Washington Post. 

 

In addition, there are also reports that Iran is preparing new deliveries of drones. The dreaded Mohajer-6 drone and the "kamikaze drone" Shahed-136 are two aircraft that should be on Vladimir Putin's wish list.

 

 

 

Vladimir Putin. Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev / AP 

 

Must protect the sky 

 

The Shahed-136 can travel over 240 miles and carry large amounts of explosives. Iranian technicians are said to have traveled to the Russian-controlled areas to instruct Russian operators in how to use them, according to the Washington Post. 

 

The cooperation between Iran and Russia has meant that Ukraine has chosen to cut several ties to the government in Tehran. Last week, President Zelenskyy appealed to NATO countries to provide them with air defenses to counter the increased threat. 

 

- We must protect our skies from Russia's terror, he said during a meeting of the Council of Europe. 

 

Iran has hit back at the accusations, saying it will not send weapons to Russia at all. 

 

- Arming both sides will only lead to a prolonged war, says Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.