Dozens of Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources told Reuters, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of satellite-guided weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Ministry officials are believed to have signed a contract on December 13 in Tehran with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another ballistic missile system made by Iran’s state-run Aerospace Industry Organization (AIO) called Ababil, the two intelligence agencies said . officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Citing multiple confidential sources, the officials said Russian personnel visited Iran to learn how to operate the Fath-360 defense system, which fires missiles with a maximum range of 120 km (75 miles) and a 150 kg warhead. One of the sources said the “only possible next” step after the training would be the actual delivery of the missiles to Russia.
Moscow has its own ballistic missiles, but the procurement of the Fath-360s could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line, while using Iranian warheads for closer-range targets, he said. military expert.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council said the United States and its NATO allies and G7 partners “stand ready to provide a swift and severe response if Iran proceeds with such transfers.”
“It would represent a dramatic escalation of Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” the spokesman said. “The White House has repeatedly warned against deepening the security partnership between Russia and Iran since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York said in a statement that the Islamic Republic had forged a long-term strategic partnership with Russia in various fields, including military cooperation.
“Nevertheless, from a moral point of view, Iran refrains from transferring weapons, including missiles, that could potentially be used in the conflict with Ukraine until it ends,” the statement said.
The White House declined to confirm that Iran was training Russian military personnel on the Fath-360 or that it was preparing to ship the weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.
The two intelligence sources did not give an exact timetable for the expected delivery of the Fath-360 missiles to Russia, but said it would happen soon. They did not provide information on Abibal’s contract status.
A third intelligence source from another European agency said it also received information that Russia had sent soldiers to Iran for training in the use of Iranian ballistic missile systems, without elaborating.
Such training is standard practice for Iranian weapons supplied to Russia, said the third source, who also declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the information.
A senior Iranian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Iran sold missiles and drones to Russia but did not provide Fath-360 missiles. There was no legal ban on Tehran selling such weapons to Russia, the source added.
“Iran and Russia are engaged in the mutual purchase of spare parts and military equipment. How each country uses this equipment is entirely their decision,” the official said, adding that Iran had not sold weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.
As part of military cooperation, Iranian and Russian officials frequently traveled between the two states, the official added.
“Destabilizing Actions”
Until now, Iran’s military support to Moscow has been mostly limited to unmanned Shahed attack drones, which carry a fraction of the explosives and are easier to shoot down because they are slower than ballistic missiles.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported in July 2023 that the system had been successfully tested, opening a new tab by the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ground force.
“Iran’s delivery of a large number of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia would allow further increased pressure on already overstretched Ukrainian missile defense systems,” said Justin Bronk, Senior Air Force Researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). ), a defense think tank based in London.
“As ballistic threats, they could only be reliably intercepted by the upper echelon of Ukrainian systems,” he said, referring to Ukraine’s most sophisticated air defenses, such as the US-made Patriot and European SAMP/T systems.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry did not immediately comment.
The NSC spokesman noted that Iran’s newly elected President Massoud Pezheskian “claimed that he wanted to moderate Iran’s policies and engage with the world. Destabilizing actions like this violate that rhetoric.”
UN Security Council restrictions on Iran’s exports of certain missiles, drones and other technology expired in October 2023. However, the United States and the European Union maintained sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program amid concerns about arms exports. to his proxies in the Middle East and Russia.
Reuters reported in February on deepening military cooperation between Iran and Russia and Moscow’s interest in Iranian surface-to-surface missiles.
Sources told the news agency at the time that about 400 longer-range Fateh-110 surface-to-surface ballistic missiles had been delivered. But European intelligence sources told Reuters that as far as they knew, no transfer had yet taken place.
Ukrainian authorities have not publicly reported finding remnants of Iranian missiles or debris during the war. Authorities in Kiev did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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