The Journalists of the Sky News channel published a contract between Russia and Iran for the supply of weapons. This document may be the first documentary confirmation that Tehran is selling weapons to the Kremlin for the war in Ukraine.
The 16-page document, dated September 14, 2022, contains various names of ammunition worth $1 013 100. Sources at the TV channel say it is "100% authentic."
The source also provided reporters with five pages of the agreement, which refers to barrels for the T-72 tank, barrels for self-propelled artillery installations and ammunition. The amount of this agreement is about $740 000.
The contract is written in English. According to a defense source, this is standard practice for contracts that Iran enters into with other countries. There are also a number of errors in the papers.
Sky News was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the documents. Journalists showed them to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during his visit to Great Britain in May and British Foreign Minister James Cleverley.
Kyiv and London stated they plan to investigate the authenticity of the materials, and if they are found to be genuine, they will take action.
- On March 8, Sky News already reported that Iran secretly transferred millions of bullets and hundreds of thousands of shells to Russia by sea. For its part, Russia is sending captured Western weapons to Iran from Ukraine, and they are trying to redesign them in Tehran.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has already accused Iran of complicity in the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine due to the supply of weapons to Russia and initiated the severance of diplomatic relations with Iran. On April 20, it became known that the Russians received a new batch of Iranian drones — this is evidenced by the markings on the downed Shaheds.
- On March 27, The Wall Street Journal wrote that Russia is supplying Iran with cyber weapons in exchange for drones, and in April — that Iran has transferred 300 000 artillery shells to Russia over the past six months.
- The official representative of the National Security Council of the White House John Kirby said on May 16 that Iran has supplied Russia with almost 400 drones since August 2022.