The Kremlin’s top security adviser arrived in Tehran late on Tuesday amid growing signs that advanced Iranian weapons are being used on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Russian and Iranian state news agencies described the visit of Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia’s National Security Council, as a routine trip to discuss joint projects.
“In Tehran, Patrushev will hold regular Russian-Iranian security consultations,” reads a report by Russia’s state news agency TASS.
Mr. Patrushev, a tough ally of President Vladimir V. Putin, is the latest high-ranking Russian official to visit Iran since the start of the war. His visit comes as Western and Ukrainian officials warn that Russia is trying to secure Iran’s precision-guided missiles and drones to raise its military fortunes in Ukraine.
The protracted war has destroyed Russia’s weapons stockpiles, forcing the country to turn to some of its remaining allies, such as Iran and North Korea, to try to counter the wave of weapons, the officials said. Western troops to Ukraine, the officials said. Last week, the Pentagon announced that North Korea was secretly supplying a “significant amount” of artillery shells to Russia. North Korea has denied the reports.
For its part, Iran has said it plans to sell ballistic missiles to Russia. It has also refused to sell attack drones since the start of the war, although their fragments have now been found several times in Ukraine and social media accounts linked to security services. Iranian security has bragged about using them there.
Ukrainian officials claim that advanced Western air defense systems have allowed them to partially neutralize Russian missiles and drones, but they warn that they have little defensive capabilities. against Iran’s ballistic missiles.
Major General Kyrylo BudanovThe head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency, said the delivery of Iranian missiles could happen by the end of November.
“It’s a serious threat because Iranian missiles, unlike Russian missiles, have pretty high accuracy, very high speed, and those features have been proven in battle,” he said. said in a recent interview with War Zone, an online publication that focuses on military issues.
Iran’s weapons have played a large role in Tehran’s proxy conflicts in Yemen and Syria, raising concerns that its growing involvement in Ukraine could increase tensions with Washington. .
Pentagon spokesman, Brig. General Pat Ryder, said Tuesday.
