Kyiv: Iran has promised Russia more drones and surface-to-surface missiles, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats said, a move that is expected to anger the United States and other Western powers.

When Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, which included First Vice President Mohamed Mokhbar, two senior officials and a representative of the Supreme National Security Council, visited Moscow on 6 October to discuss arms deliveries, an agreement was reached.

One of the Iranian diplomats briefed on the mission said the Russians had requested more drones and those Iranian ballistic missiles with better accuracy, specifically the Fateh and Zolfghar missile families.

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According to a Western official with knowledge of the subject, Iran and Russia have an agreement to provide short-range surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles, such as the Zolfaghar.

The Shaheed-136, a drone with delta wings used as an air-to-surface attack aircraft, is one of the drones provided by Iran. It has a small warhead that explodes when it hits something.

Iranian short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar can reach targets up to 700 kilometers away (186 and 435 miles).

Western officials claim the transfers violate a 2015 UN Security Council resolution, which was denied by the Iranian diplomat.
"The use for which they are put is not the seller's concern. Unlike the West, we are neutral in the Ukraine crisis. We want to resolve the crisis diplomatically," the diplomat said.

In recent weeks, Russia has reportedly carried out a series of strikes using a drone made in Iran, the Shaheed-136. The Kremlin on Tuesday denied that its forces had used Iranian drones to strike Ukraine, while Iran's foreign ministry dismissed as unfounded reports that Russia had asked Iran for use in Ukraine. Drones and other weapons were purchased.

A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, responded that the Kremlin was unaware of any use of Iranian drones in Russia's campaign in Ukraine.

It uses Russian equipment and terminology," he said. "The Ministry of Defense should be contacted for any additional questions," he said.
A request for comment from the ministry was not immediately received.

Tensions between Iran and the US and other Western powers will escalate if Iranian missiles and drones appear in Moscow's arsenals during the war with Ukraine.

According to a US official, the US State Department has determined that Iranian drones were used in an early morning mob attack on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Monday. Speaking on behalf of the White House, Karin Jean-Pierre accused Tehran of lying when it claimed that Russia was not using Iranian drones in Ukraine.

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According to a European diplomat, Russia is turning to imports from allies such as Iran and North Korea as it is finding it difficult to manufacture weapons for itself given sanctions on its industrial sector.

The European diplomat said the use of drones and missiles would be a logical next step.

A senior US military official was questioned about Russian purchases of Iranian surface-to-surface missiles and replied, "At this point I have nothing to say about whether that's true at this point." Or not.

The leaders of Iran, which has been plagued by Western economic sanctions, are eager to strengthen its strategic ties with Russia to counter an emerging, US-backed Gulf Arab-Israeli bloc that pits Middle East power against the Islamic Republic. may further inhibit mobility.

According to Iran's top Revolutionary Guard commander, Hossein Salami, "some of the world's major powers" are willing to buy military and defense equipment from Iran.

On Tuesday, state media quoted Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran's supreme leader, as saying that 22 countries want to buy Iranian drones.

Additionally, nationwide protests over the custodial death of a 22-year-old woman detained for "inappropriate dress" are increasing pressure on Iran's leaders.

On Monday, the European Union agreed a different set of sanctions related to Tehran's crackdown on the unrest, but several member states also sought sanctions against Iran for providing drones to Russia.

One of the security officials said, "The [Russians] wanted to buy hundreds of our missiles, including medium-range missiles, but we told them that we would like their desired Zolfghar and a few hundred ships of the Fateh 110 short-range, surface-to-air missiles." Can send surface missiles soon."

"I can't tell you exactly when, but they will be shipped in two to three shipments very soon," she said.

Although he lacked concrete proof, an Eastern European official keeping tabs on Russia's weapons activity claimed that they had information that this arms deal was taking place. According to the official, the Iranian and Russian leaders decided to move forward with the transfer.

Another Iranian diplomat stated that the shipment of the short-range Fateh 110 and Zolfaghar missiles, which Moscow had specifically requested, will take place in no more than 10 days.

The stakes are extremely high for Iran, which has been in talks with Western nations to resurrect a 2015 agreement that would ease sanctions in exchange for restrictions on Tehran's nuclear programme.

The negotiations are at a standstill, and any disagreements between Tehran and Western powers over Iran's arms sales to Russia or its response to unrest could make it more difficult to reach a deal.

According to US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel on Monday, the US concurs with the assessments of the UK and France that Iran providing drones to Russia would be against a UN Security Council resolution that supported the 2015 agreement.

Due to the sensitivity of the situation, the Western official, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that the transfer of missiles would be in violation of UN resolution 2231 just like the transfer of drones.

According to the second diplomat, several senior Iranian officials are incensed by the "unjust" sanctions that are being planned against Iran because of its arms shipments to Russia.

According to three Iranian officials who spoke to Reuters, Tehran turned down President Vladimir Putin's request for Iran to supply its advanced Arash 2 long-range attack drones in September.

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One of the officials gave several reasons for the refusal, including "some technical problems," when asked. Additionally, the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards were concerned that Americans might gain access to our technology if Russia used the Arash 2 drone in Ukraine.