Iran and Russia are developing a deepening strategic partnership that could prove crucial in helping Iran defend itself from an attack from Israel, The Washington Post said in a report on 16 April.
The Post claims that according to a leaked Russian document, stolen Iranian emails, and interviews with US intelligence officials, Russia has pledged to provide Iran with “advanced fighter jets and air-defense technology, assets that could help Tehran harden its defenses against any future airstrike by Israel.”
Israeli officials are currently weighing a possible attack on Iran in response to Tehran’s launch of over 300 missiles and drones at Israeli targets on Saturday. Iran’s attack came in response to Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus earlier this month.
The Post report cites intelligence sources claiming that Russia has agreed to provide Iran with Su-35 fighter jets and the S-400 anti-missile defense system.
The Su-35s would be a dramatic upgrade for an Iranian air force that consists mainly of rebuilt US and Soviet aircraft from before the 1979 revolution that established the Islamic Republic.
The S-400 is Russia’s most advanced missile defense system. In 2019, Russia provided Iran with the S-300 system.
The intelligence officials added there is no public evidence that Su-35s or S-400s have been delivered to Iran.
According to intelligence officials and the leaked documents cited by the Post, Moscow and Tehran have also begun working cooperatively on new drones.
Russia has benefitted from Iranian drone technology in its war in Ukraine. Russia has manufactured drones using the technology and designs provided by Iran, including the long-range, sweptwing Shahed-131 and Shahed-136.
Russia has used drones to attack Ukrainian military targets and energy infrastructure.
Among the leaked documents were details of visits by Iranian and Russian delegations to tour weapons facilities in both countries, the Post claimed.
The documents allegedly show details of Iranian officials’ trip to Russia’s NPP Start factory as part of a broader tour of defense facilities in five cities. The document was allegedly signed by officials of Technodinamika JSC, which operates NPP Start, as well as the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Several documents claim to “describe an April 2023 trip to Iran by a delegation of Russian engineers to watch a demonstration of a new jet-powered drone as well as a line of hunter-killer UAVs designed to destroy enemy drones.”
The test allegedly led to an agreement for Russia to acquire more than 600 of the Iranian jet drones, which would be built in Russia with Iranian guidance.
Producing the drones jointly with Russia would allow Iran to evaluate their performance on Ukrainian battlefields. David Albright, an expert on Iran’s weapon systems and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, commented, “Mistakes and flaws in the designs will be identified and fixed … and Iran would benefit from that.”