Excerpt from: "Europeans Worry Russia Is Preparing to Deliver Drones to Iran"
The drones are an improved version of a weapon that Iran sent to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.
Excerpt from above-cited article, "Europeans Worry Russia Is Preparing to Deliver Drones to Iran"
Dmitry S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, on Thursday denied that Russia was delivering drones and other arms to Iran for use in this war, telling reporters it was “false information.”
Mr. Peskov had also denied an earlier report this month in The Wall Street Journal that Russia had already supplied Iran with modernized components for its drones meant to improve communication, navigation and targeting.
Russia has previously said it had transferred medical supplies and food to Iran overland through Azerbaijan and will continue to do so.
Earlier this month, President Trump downplayed reports that Russia was providing Iran with intelligence to target American troops. “If you take a look at what’s happened to Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping them much,” he told reporters.
Russian military support for Iran is an awkward issue for Mr. Trump, who has often sided with Russia over Ukraine and has been reluctant to put more pressure on Moscow.
Even more awkward, the Iran war has caused oil prices to spike, and to try to lower them, Mr. Trump recently lifted some economic sanctions on Russian oil. That infuriated Europeans and Mr. Zelensky, since it helps finance the Russian war machine.
And Moscow sees its aid to Iran as a kind of quid pro quo for American aid to Ukraine.
Russia’s help to Iran follows Tehran’s important military aid to the Russian Army in Ukraine at one of its lowest points in September 2022, especially by providing hundreds of the Shahed-136 Iranian drones.
Russia then built its own production facility for the drones in Yelabuga, Tatarstan, around 620 miles east of Moscow. While Russian specialists initially assembled drones from Iranian kits, the operation has scaled up dramatically.
In early 2023, the plant produced roughly 100 drones per month but now can produce thousands. The design has also evolved. Russian engineers have modified the original into a distinctively Russian product, featuring domestic airframes, warheads and navigation systems.
Last July, Timur Shagivaleyev, the head of the special economic zone that houses the Yelabuga factory, described it on Russian state television as “the biggest and the most secretive strike drone factory in the world.”
Lara Jakes and Michael Schwirtz contributed reporting.
Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe and is based in Berlin. He has reported from over 120 countries, including Thailand, France, Israel, Germany and the former Soviet Union.
Ivan Nechepurenko covers Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the countries of the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
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