TEHRAN: Dozens of Russian military personnel are training in Iran to use the Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources told Reuters, adding that they expected hundreds of satellite-guided weapons to be delivered to Russia imminently. his war in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract with Iranian officials in Tehran on December 13 for the Fath-360 and another ballistic missile system built by Iran's government-owned Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO) called Ababil. officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Citing several confidential intelligence sources, officials said Russian personnel visited Iran to learn how to operate the Fath-360 defense system, which fires missiles with a maximum range of 120 km (75 miles) and a 150 kg warhead. One of the sources said the “only possible next” step after the training would be to actually deliver the missiles to Russia.
Moscow has a range of its own ballistic missiles, but delivery of the Fath-360 could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal on targets behind the front lines while using Iranian warheads for closer-range targets, a military expert said.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council said the United States and its NATO allies and G7 partners “stand ready to provide a swift and severe response should Iran proceed with such transfers”.
“It would represent a dramatic escalation of Iran's support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,” the spokesman said. “The White House has repeatedly warned of a deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York said in a statement that the Islamic Republic has established a long-term strategic partnership with Russia in various fields, including military cooperation.
“However, from an ethical perspective, Iran refrains from transferring any weapons, including missiles, that could potentially be used in the conflict with Ukraine until it ends,” the statement said.
The White House refused to confirm that Iran was training Russian military personnel on the Fath-360 or that it was preparing to send weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.
The two intelligence sources did not give an exact time frame for the expected delivery of the Fath-360 missiles to Russia, but said it would be soon. They did not provide any information on the status of the Abibal contract.
A third intelligence source from another European agency said it had also received information that Russia had sent troops to Iran to train in the use of Iran's ballistic missile systems, without giving further details.
Such training is standard practice for Iranian weapons supplied to Russia, said a third source, who also declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the information.
A senior Iranian official, who requested anonymity, said Iran had sold missiles and drones to Russia but had not provided the Fath-360 missiles. There was no legal ban on Tehran selling such weapons to Russia, the source added.
“Iran and Russia are engaged in buying each other parts and military equipment. How each country uses this equipment is entirely up to them,” the official said, adding that Iran had not sold weapons to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.
As part of military cooperation, Iranian and Russian officials frequently traveled between the two states, the official added.
“Destabilizing Action”
Until now, Iran's military support for Moscow has been mainly limited to unmanned Shahed attack drones, which carry a fraction of the explosives and are easier to shoot down because they are slower than ballistic missiles.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported in July 2023 that a new training system for the Fath 360 had been successfully tested by the ground forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow for Air Power at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based defense think-tank, said: “The supply of large numbers of short-range ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would enable further escalation. under pressure on the already heavily overloaded Ukrainian anti-missile defense systems.
“As ballistic threats, they could only be reliably intercepted by Ukraine's higher-level systems,” he said, referring to the most sophisticated air defenses Ukraine has, such as the American Patriot systems and the European SAMP/T systems.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry had no immediate comment.
In March, G7 leaders expressed concern over reports that Iran was considering moving ballistic missiles to Russia and warned in a statement that they would respond in a coordinated manner with significant measures against Iran.
In response to questions from Reuters, an NSC spokesman noted that Iran's newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian, “has stated that he wants to moderate Iran's policy and deal with the world. Destabilizing actions like this run counter to that rhetoric.
A British government spokesman expressed deep concern at reports suggesting that Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran. “Iran must not continue” with the transfer of ballistic missiles, he said.
UN Security Council restrictions on Iranian exports of certain missiles, drones and other technology expired in October 2023. However, the United States and the European Union have maintained sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program over concerns about arms exports to its proxies in the Middle East and to Russia.
In February, Reuters reported on deepening military cooperation between Iran and Russia and Moscow's interest in Iranian surface-to-surface missiles.
Sources told the news agency at the time that around 400 Fateh-110 long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles had been delivered. But European intelligence sources told Reuters that, according to their information, no transfer had yet taken place.
Ukrainian authorities have not publicly reported finding any remnants of Iranian missiles or debris during the war.
