Russia is reportedly gearing up to arm Iran, the very ally that's been arming it. Western intelligence officials say Moscow is close to completing a delivery of drones, as well as medicine and food, to Iran—a shift that would mark Russia's first confirmed supply of lethal hardware to Tehran since the US and Israel launched a war against the country, per the Financial Times. The talks on drone transfers began in secret days after US and Israeli strikes began, officials say, with deliveries to be made by the end of the month. Russia has already been providing Iran with satellite imagery, targeting data, and other intelligence, and one senior Western official said the goal now is to bolster both Iran's combat power and the stability of its government.
The exact drone models aren't confirmed, but officials believe Russia could send variants of its Geran-2, based on Iran's Shahed-136, which Moscow has upgraded for use in Ukraine with better engines, navigation, and anti-jamming features. Analysts say Iran, which has launched more than 3,000 one-way attack drones across the region, is seeking more advanced capabilities and may aim to reverse engineer the Russian systems. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov would not confirm the report, saying "there are a lot of fakes going around," but confirmed ongoing "dialogue with the Iranian leadership." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of blackmailing the US, offering to stop supporting Iran "if America stops passing intelligence to Ukraine," per GB News.
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