After over a year’s worth of combat in Ukraine, the Russian army is slowly running out of steam. This is due to both loss of morale for failing to win a battle the entire world thought would be decided within days and an overall lack of weaponry.
However, Russia recently received an unexpected ally.
Iran offered to provide the country with the materials they need to create a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow, something the many sanctions imposed on the country made impossible until now.
With the newly created supply lines, Iran will be able to supply Russia with a steady flow of attack drones, allowing Kremlin to carry out long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Apart from the drones, Iran will also give Russia all the required materials to continue producing these drones, hoping Putin will repay them in Russian warplanes and air-defense systems.
This partnership is harmful to Ukraine, Europe, and practically any other allied country, especially Iran’s neighbors.
Satellite images show the exact spot where the drone manufacturing plant is to be located. US intelligence believes if these material transfers continue at the same pace, the factory could be operational by next year.
These plans were originally discovered in July last year, but the Biden administration failed to act in response, giving Iran all the time it needed to create a supply channel.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby assured the US is using all the tools at its disposal to disrupt this activity. Sharing this knowledge with the public was only one of the many steps taken against this partnership.
As of May, more than 400 of these kamikaze drones have been shipped to Russia. It seems they’re never enough. The country keeps refilling its arsenal while constantly launching attacks on Ukrainian cities and other populated areas.
It’s suspected that Tehran also sold ballistic missiles to Russia during this time, but there’s insufficient evidence to support these claims.
Of course, Iran wouldn’t have agreed to this deal if they were walking away from it empty-handed. Tehran hopes they’ll receive radars, missiles, defense systems, and attack helicopters from Russia, with the equipment being valued at billions of dollars.
With this newly-acquired weaponry, Iran will become a force to be reckoned with in the Middle East, giving them an incredible advantage in whatever conflict they engage in.
The defense systems could also make it more difficult for the US or Israel to disable nuclear facilities in Iran if need be, which creates a number of different complications.