Ukraine Situation Report: Iranian Officials Admit To Selling Russia Ballistic Missiles
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Iranian officials told Reuters the country will sell hundreds of short range ballistic missiles, plus more drones, to Russia.
byHoward Altman| PUBLISHED Oct 18, 2022 9:07 PMThe War ZoneIran State MediaShareHoward AltmanView howard altman's Articles
Iranian officials have for the first time acknowledged plans to sell Russia hundreds of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and drones, Reuters has reported, citing two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats.
The acknowledgment flies in the face of previous denials by Iran about selling missiles and drones to Russia despite the glaring fact that they had done so.
Just last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said "the Islamic Republic of Iran has not and will not provide any weapon to be used in the war in Ukraine," according to an Oct. 16 readout of his call with his Portuguese counterpart, the Washington Post reported. "We believe that the arming of each side of the crisis will prolong the war."
The deal, first reported in that Post story which did not have an acknowledgment by Iran, involves Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar SRBMs capable of striking targets at distances of between 186 and 435 miles.
Iranian officials have acknowledged agreeing to sell Fateh 110 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. (Photo by Mohsen Shandiz/Corbis via Getty Images)
Both SRBMs have been used by Iran to strike targets operationally in the past.
The Zolfaghar was used in its Jan. 2020 attack on the Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq, according to Michael Elleman, Director of Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies and a former U.N. weapons inspector. That attack left more than 100 U.S. troops with traumatic brain injuries. The Fateh-110 was used by Iran in its March 2022 attack on Erbil in Iraq. Zolfaghars were also used to strike targets in Syria prior to both those operations. These weapons hit very hard with an impressive degree of accuracy. That's something we wrote about earlier this month when we predicted that Iran, which makes a wide range of ballistic missiles and military drones, would sell Russia ballistic missiles. You can read more about that here.
A military truck parades the surface-to-surface Fateh 110 during an annual military parade in Iran. (ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)
"They (Russians) wanted to buy hundreds of our missiles, even mid-range ones, but we told them that we can ship soon a few hundred of their demanded Zolfaghar and Fateh 110 short-range, surface-to-surface missiles," one of the Iranian security officials told Reuters. "I cannot give you the exact time, but soon, very soon those will be shipped in two to three shipments."
The sale comes as Russia appears to be running short of its own stock of ballistic missiles, like the long-range Kalibr cruise missiles that can be fired from warships and submarines, with a derivative of the same 3M14 land-attack missile also being available for ground launch. Stocks of Russia's primary short-range ballistic missile, the Iskander-M, which also has a nuclear application, also appear to be running low after heavy use during the opening stages of the invasion. Iranian stocks would help offset that major loss in capability.
The deal drew condemnation from Ukraine, where Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday submitted a proposal to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling for the cutting of diplomatic ties with Iran.
Iran agreed to sell Russia SRBMs on Oct. 6, Reuters reported, "when Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, two senior officials from Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and an official from the Supreme National Security Council visited Moscow for talks with Russia about the delivery of" Shahed-136 drones, the kind that rained down on cities across Ukraine Monday.
"The Russians had asked for more drones and those Iranian ballistic missiles with improved accuracy, particularly the Fateh and Zolfaghar missiles family," one of the Iranian diplomats, who was briefed about the trip, told Reuters.
The Iranian diplomat rejected assertions by Western officials that such transfers breach a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution.
"Where they are being used is not the seller's issue," the diplomat told Reuters. "We do not take sides in the Ukraine crisis like the West. We want an end to the crisis through diplomatic means."
Regardless of what Iran says, its drones are playing a big role in the destruction of Ukraine's power infrastructure, which Zelensky said about a third of which has been damaged in waves of attacks that did not take place in earlier phases of Russia's all-out war.
CNN was recently given exclusive access to an Iranian Mohajer-6 drone, that was captured a few weeks ago in southern Ukraine. It once again showcases that Russia is lying when it claims it is using only "Russian weapons with Russian numbers."
Meanwhile, there are apparently IRGC trainers already operating in Crimea, according to the New York Times.
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This has huge ramifications for a number of countries. While Iran is dealing with an internal revolution it relationship with Russia seems to be getting closer and closer.
Israel's balancing act in which it did not honor the boycott of Russia and the Russians allowed tacit approval of Israel striking Hezbollah targets in Syria may have just come to an end. Iran the sworn enemy of Israel has left Israel with a stark choice.
Israel has refused to sell or donate military weapons to Ukraine but has supplied humanitarian aid and has refused direct requests from Ukraine for air defense protection material, namely the "Iron Dome''.
Voices in Israel are calling on Israel to support Ukraine in turn Russian is threatening Israel.
The near future is going to get more intense and the war in Ukraine is by proxy spreading to the Middle East.
fortunately iranian military technology seems to be in direct proportion to the effectiveness of the russian army. the religious relics in iran are about to find out they have minimal domestic support. we need to find a way to arm the women in that theocratic shit hole and watch their military disappear into thin air.
while trump ass-licker kevin mccarthy suggests that military aid to ukraine would be in question with his fascist majority in the house after a mid-term victory. why does he feel the need to continuously prove the cowardice in his party?
Indeed we do.
I'm surprised this hasn't widened already. Without air support the Ukrainian winter is going to be brutal.
I'm certain that it will be, EG.
Will the MAGA nabobs who blamed Biden for Putin invading Ukraine give Biden credit for beatng Russia?
That was sarcasm, right?
The latest reports are the Russians are pulling out of Kherson.
There were reports the Russians moved 2 million people out of the region and into Russia as hostages? I don't know how arcuate that report was.
I heard the same but the number was 60,000 in the city alone.
The latest from Israel:
Israel clarifies that it will not give arms to Ukraine and will limit itself to reinforcing its warning system
It will be interesting if and when Israel asks for or needs help.