Moscow’s plans have caused great concern for Joe Biden’s administration at a time when support in Congress for further US military aid to Ukraine is waning. Lawmakers have yet to pass a bill that would provide Ukraine with additional funding.
“The United States is concerned that Russia’s negotiations to acquire short-range ballistic missiles from Iran are moving forward,” one of the US officials said. “We appreciate that Russia intends to purchase missile systems from Iran.”
If the purchase goes ahead, the Iranian missiles might be delivered as early as this spring, but U.S. officials do not believe the deal has been finalized.
The Iranian missiles would complement Moscow’s recent acquisitions. Russia has already begun receiving ballistic missile launchers and several dozen ballistic missiles from North Korea, officials said.
U.S. officials said Moscow’s desire to acquire Iranian missiles was evident in mid-December when a Russian delegation visited an Iranian test site and observed ballistic missiles and related equipment, including the Ababil short-range missile, being displayed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force.
The visit, which has not been previously publicized and is seen as another step towards acquiring Iranian missiles, follows Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s September trip to the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Forces in Tehran. During that visit, Shoigu observed Ababil and other missile systems, US officials said. He also met with the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, and boasted that Russian-Iranian relations had reached a new level.
Russia, embroiled in a deadly war and facing international sanctions, has also turned to North Korea to supplement its efforts to build weapons at home. September. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a summit at a spaceport in the Russian Far East and pledged closer economic and security cooperation.
In the past few weeks, North Korea has begun sending a variety of weapons to Russia, including short-range ballistic missiles sent to Russia’s east for the first time, according to several officials familiar with the deal. According to officials, the weaponry also includes the previously reported artillery stockpile.
Military analysts say Moscow’s purchases of Iranian and North Korean missiles might be a major boost for Russia, which is stepping up attacks and trying to overcome Ukraine’s missile defenses.
Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters. /Russian attacks in Kyiv
“The strikes carried out by Russia in recent days show how important it is for the Russians to have a large number of ballistic missiles,” said Frederick Kagan, director of the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.
According to R. Kagan, Russia is looking for ways to overcome Ukraine’s anti-aircraft defense by increasing the number of missiles launched and changing the types of weapons used. “Having enough ballistic missiles in your arsenal is a very important part of that,” he added.
Russia has already purchased many drones from Iran to attack Ukraine. Moscow and Tehran are also building a new factory in Russia that might produce thousands of drones for the conflict, US officials said.
Russia’s engagement with Iran and North Korea is a shift from its stance in previous years, when it cooperated with the United States and other Western powers in an attempt to limit the two states’ capabilities.
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2024-07-10 03:16:44
