FT: Russia completes delivery of drones for Middle East war

Russia has almost completed the delivery of “Geran-2” drones, created from “Shaheds”, medicine, and food to Iran for the war against the US and Israel.

This is reported by the Financial Times, citing sources.

The interlocutors note that Moscow is actively supporting Tehran not only in humanitarian terms. It also includes military aid, intelligence data, satellite imagery, and information for targeting strikes.

According to sources, negotiations for the transfer of the drones began almost immediately after the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The processing of the deliveries began in early March, and is planned to be completed by the end of this month.

Presumably, Russia may transfer to Iran drones of the “Geran-2” type, which are based on the Iranian “Shahed”, but modernized — with better navigation, engines and protection against electronic warfare. These are the drones that Russia has been using in the war against Ukraine since 2023.

At the same time, Moscow publicly declares only humanitarian aid. In particular, Russia recently reported sending more than 13 tons of medicine to Iran via Azerbaijan.

Tehran has also asked Russia for more modern air defense systems and in December last year signed a deal to supply 500 “Verba” portable launchers and 2 500 missiles over three years.

Against this backdrop, Israel has reportedly already struck one of the military shipping routes between Russia and Iran in the Caspian Sea. Experts also note that the use of more modern Russian technology could increase the effectiveness of Iranian strikes.

• In early March, The Washington Post reported that Russia was providing Iran with information on the location of US troops in the Middle East for attacks. CNN later reported that Russia was also sharing drone tactics with Iran to attack US and Gulf targets in the Middle East.
• On March 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russia had transferred “Shahed” drones to Iran, which were used to strike American targets. In addition, some parts of these drones are of Russian origin.

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