Iran has secretly supplied Russia with large quantities of bullets, mortar shells and other munitions for the war in Ukraine and plans to send more.
This was reported by a security source to Sky News.
According to his data, in January, two Russian-flagged cargo ships left an Iranian port and headed for Russia via the Caspian Sea. They carried approximately 100 million bullets, about 300 000 shells for rocket launchers, mortars and machine guns, as well as 10 000 body armor and helmets.
"Russia continues to use Iran as a rear base," the source told to Sky News.
He also reported that the two cargo ships that probably took part in this operation were named Musa Jalil and Begey. Both fly under the Russian flag. One of them left Iran on or about January 10, and the other on or about January 12. The ships carried about 200 transport containers filled with weapons.
On January 9, the MarineTraffic tracker recorded two ships in the Iranian port of Amirabad on the Caspian Sea. Satellite images taken the next day showed at least one of the vessels still in port. The Musa Jalil left the port around 10:00 a.m. local time on January 10, and the Begey the same day.
According to the tracker, on January 12, both vessels stopped off the coast of Turkmenistan for a couple of days for an unknown reason. Musa Jalil and Begey then crossed the Caspian Sea and arrived at the Russian port of Astrakhan on January 27. The ships left it on February 3.
- On November 1, CNN, citing Western officials who closely monitor Iranʼs weapons program, wrote that Iran plans to transfer approximately a thousand ballistic missiles and drones to Russia for the war against Ukraine.
- At the end of November, the military intelligence of Ukraine reported that it had not yet recorded the transfer of ballistic missiles by Iran to Russia for strikes on Ukraine.
- The head of Mossad David Barnea also noted that Iran seeks to expand the supply of modern weapons to Russia.
- The Financial Times, citing its own sources, wrote that Russia has so far refused to buy ballistic missiles from Iran. The West threatened her that, in this case, it would also transfer long-range missiles to Ukraine.