A newly declassified intelligence suggests that Iran has been sending materials to Russia for the development of a local facility which the US believes will be used to build drones intended for the attack in Ukraine. This news comes as the latest sign of a growing military alliance between Tehran and Moscow.
Iran Has Been Supplying Components to Russia to Build a Drone Factory, Possibly for Ukraine Attacks
On Friday, June 9, the White House announced that the drone factory might begin producing drones as early as next year. Nearly a thousand kilometers east of Moscow, in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, it published satellite photos showing the construction of the alleged facilities, as reported by CBS News.
The government also issued a map showing the route that hundreds of attack drones reportedly delivered from Iran to Russia had taken.
According to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, "The drones are built in Iran, shipped across the Caspian Sea, from Amirabad, Iran to Makhachkala, Russia, and then used operationally by Russian forces against Ukraine."
Recently, Russia reportedly attacked the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv using Iranian drones.
Also Read: Iran Re-Detains Cartoonist Atena Farghadani on Unknown Charges
Concerns Over the Strengthening Military Links Between Iran and Russia
CBS News said that during a press conference last month, Kirby expressed concern that the Iran-Russia military ties were expanding, saying that Russia was likely to seek more sophisticated models from Tehran.
In 2022, the Biden administration also revealed photos from a visit by Russian officials to Iran's Kashan Airfield in order to see a drone with the capability of carrying a weapon in the previous year. Later on, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts on his first overseas tour since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
National Security Council's Kirby stated on Friday that "the support is flowing both ways: from Iran to Russia, and from Russia to Iran." He said that Russia was providing Iran with unprecedented defense cooperation, including assistance with missile development, electronic systems, and air defense.
The US has already said that it expects ties between Moscow and Tehran to remain transactional, with CIA Director William Burns citing potential limits to the partnership in July 2022.
Both nations are under sanctions from the federal government, and both want to emerge from political isolation, according to Burns during the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. He added, "If they need each other, they don't really trust each other, in the sense that they're energy rivals and historical competitors."
Prior to this, the US and the European Union had placed sanctions on Iran's drone industry and on any purported procurement networks supplying the sector with materials.
According to Bloomberg, the White House also said on Friday that it would be releasing new government guidance to assist countries and companies in taking precautions to prevent unwittingly aiding Tehran's drone program.
