Iran Sending Missiles To Russia Adding Fears In Ukraine, Israel
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TEHRAN/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Iran is reportedly providing Russia with a massive number of highly accurate ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries and raising concerns in wartorn Ukraine and Israel.
Already, some 400 “highly accurate” missiles were delivered, including many from the Fateh-110 family of short-range ballistic weapons, Iranian sources said.
Among them, the Zolfaghar, capable of hitting targets 186 miles (nearly 300 kilometers) to 435 miles (700 kilometers) away, Worthy News monitored.
The shipments began in early January after the deal was finalized in meetings late last year in Tehran and Moscow, Iranian sources told Reuters news agency.
An anonymous Iranian military official was quoted as saying there have been at least four shipments of missiles and that there would be more in the coming weeks.
Another senior official explained that some were transported via plane, while others traveled via the Caspian Sea on ships.
“There will be more shipments,” the second Iranian official added. “There is no reason to hide it. We are allowed to export weapons to any country that we wish to.”
UN RESTRICTIONS
Restrictions dictated by the United Nations Security Council on Iran’s export of missiles, drones, and other military technology expired in October.
Yet, the United States and the European Union have retained sanctions on Tehran’s ballistic missile program amid concerns about Iran’s intentions in the Middle East and beyond
A U.S. official said Washington knew of talks between Iran and Russia on missiles but wasn’t aware of any such deliveries yet.
The statement raised questions about whether the shipments of missiles by the Islamic Republic had remained undetected by the U.S. despite its extensive intelligence-gathering capabilities.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby warned last month that Russia “was close” to acquiring short-range ballistic weapons from Iran, as well as missiles already sourced from North Korea.
News of the deliveries came as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is on the verge of entering its third year, leaving Ukraine struggling to catch up with Moscow’s advances on the battlefield.
Iran-made Shahed ‘kamikaze’ drones have already pounded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities and infrastructure alongside an array of missiles.
UKRAINE STRUGGLES
Tehran’s surface-to-surface rockets sent to Russia were due to further complicate Ukraine’s defense efforts and attempts to retake lost territories.
The U.S. failure to vote through a fresh military aid package for Ukraine is already impacting the frontlines, warned the secretary-general of the NATO military alliance last week.
Jens Stoltenberg said he believed the U.S. Congress would eventually approve the stalled $60 billion package after the Senate passed the measure.
His words could not prevent the fall of the Ukrainian frontline town of Avdiivka. And with Western support stalled or slowly arriving, Jeffrey Lewis, an expert with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said the Fateh-110 family of missiles and the Zolfaghar were precision weapons that could do more harm.
“They are used to point at things that are high value and need precise damage,” said Lewis in published remarks, adding that 400 munitions already in Russia could inflict considerable harm. He noted that Russian bombardments in Ukraine were already “pretty brutal.”
Hundreds of thousands of people, including many troops, are believed to have been killed and injured in Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two.
Iran’s capabilities to export to Russia were also likely to raise concerns in Israel that Tehran could send more missiles to Iran-backed militia in the Middle East.
Russia also has a significant military presence in Syria, though Israel has been careful not to seek a direct confrontation with Moscow’s military.
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