Iran smuggled drones into Russia using boats and state airline, sources reveal
Exclusive: at least 18 long-range armed drones were delivered to Putin’s navy after Russians visit Tehran in November
A Shahed 129 drone, one of the models smuggled into Russia, displayed in the Iranian capital Tehran in 2013. Photograph: Sepah News/AFP/Getty Images
Martin Chulov in Beirut,
Dan Sabbagh in Kyiv and Nechirvan Mando
Sun 12 Feb 2023 15.31 GMT
Iran has used boats and a state-owned airline to smuggle new types of advanced long-range armed drones to Russia for use in its war on
Ukraine, sources inside the Middle Eastern country have revealed.
At least 18 of the drones were delivered to Vladimir Putin’s navy after Russian officers and technicians made a special visit to Tehran in November, where they were shown a full range of Iran’s technologies.
On that occasion, the 10-man Russian delegation selected six Mohajer-6 drones, which have a range of around 200km and carry two missiles under each wing, along with 12 Shahed 191 and 129 drones, which also have an air-to-ground strike capability.
Unlike the better-known Shahed 131 and 136 drones, which have been heavily used by Russia in kamikaze raids against Ukrainian targets, the higher-flying drones are designed to deliver bombs and return to base intact.
The disclosures demonstrate the increasing closeness between
Iran and Russia, which share a hostility towards the US, since Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
Last August,
US officials said that Iran had begun showcasing the Shahed 191 and 129 drones in June to Russia, and said they expected Tehran to sell them to Moscow. Mohajer-6 drones have been downed in Ukraine since September, with officials displaying
one in November to the Guardian in Kyiv.
Increasingly short of missiles to sustain its brutal bombing campaign of Ukraine’s towns and cities, Russia has turned to Iran and also North Korea to replenish its stocks. Many in Ukraine fear Russia plans to launch a major attack around the time of the one-year anniversary of the war in less than two weeks.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...oats-state-airline-smuggle-drones-into-russia