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WASHINGTON (AP) — Struggling to maintain a steady supply of weapons for its war in Ukraine, Moscow is once again asking Iran to supply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
U.S. concerns are growing that Russia may seek additional advanced conventional weapons from Iran, said a National Security Council official who spoke on condition of anonymity about U.S. intelligence. The official said the administration was particularly concerned that Russia might seek to acquire surface-to-surface missiles from Iran.
Separately, a UN diplomat said Iran plans to sell hundreds of missiles and drones to Russia in violation of a 2015 Security Council resolution that approved a nuclear deal between Tehran and six major powers. Russia, as a signatory to the 2015 agreement, would undermine the resolution, and the key question is what Russia will give Iran in exchange for the drones and missiles, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal information.
The diplomat added that the sale would mark a significant increase in the depth of defense cooperation between Russia and Iran and could have “huge implications for the security of the region.” It did not appear that the weapons had been delivered yet, but “it is clear in the order books,” the diplomat said.
Concerns over the new arms sales to Russia come after Iran sold hundreds of attack drones to the Russians over the summer. The Biden administration says Russia has also turned to North Korea for artillery as the nine-month war rages on.
On Wednesday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the US had not yet seen Iranian missiles being transferred to Russia. But he emphasized the impact that previous arms sales had had in the war, as Russian forces increasingly targeted Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure as the cold winter months set in.
“We have seen the continued delivery of Iranian drones from Iran to Russia.” “You can see those drones continue to hit civilian targets and kill innocent Ukrainians almost every day,” Kirby said. “So we know that they are involved in the efforts that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has been making recently to try to bring the Ukrainian people to their knees in terms of power, water and other resources.”
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in late November that Russia is “likely to have almost exhausted its current stockpile” of Iranian-supplied drones, but is likely to seek new supplies.
Russia has also not yet managed to acquire Iranian-made ballistic missiles, an adviser to the Ukrainian president told the Guardian. Mihail Podoljak said that “Iran has come under enormous diplomatic pressure, and the protests have also put pressure on the government” in Tehran not to deliver weapons.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday that concerns that Russia would ask Iran to boost its supply of ballistic missiles “is not a new concern”.
“At this time, we do not have any information to share regarding current deliveries of ballistic missiles,” Price said. “But we know that Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine has forced Russia to use up its relatively meager arsenal of weapons, including ballistic missiles.
The White House has repeatedly sought to highlight Russia’s reliance on Iran and North Korea, another widely isolated nation on the international stage, for support as it wages its war against Ukraine.
The Biden administration recently unveiled sanctions against Iranian firms and entities involved in the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia for use in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It all comes as the administration condemned the Islamic Republic’s violent crackdown on protests that erupted across Iran following the September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while he is being held by the morale police.
Although the White House has accused Iran of supporting Russia’s war effort, the administration has not ruled out reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. — swallowed up by the Trump administration in 2018. The pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, would provide Tehran with billions in sanctions in exchange for the country agreeing to roll back its nuclear program to limits set in the 2015 deal.
Separately, the White House accused North Korea of secretly supplying a significant number of artillery shells to Russia in support of its invasion of Ukraine. The White House said North Korea was trying to make it look like the artillery was sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa, but that it was intended for Russia.
In October, the White House accused Tehran of sending Iranian troops to Crimea to support Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian power plants and other key infrastructure.
The White House and the British government have said that a relatively small number of Iranian personnel are deployed in Crimeapart of Ukraine unilaterally annexed by Russia in violation of international law in 2014, they were there to assist Russian troops in launching Iranian-made drones against Ukraine.
A National Security Council official said Russia has received a significant number of drones from Iran and the US believes Moscow is likely to continue receiving additional shipments in the future.
The Biden administration has repeatedly declassified and disclosed intelligence information about cooperation between Moscow and Tehran in the hope of increasing international pressure on Tehran to withdraw aid to Russia.
Kirby declined to offer details on the U.S. assessment of Russian stockpiles.
But he said the White House knew Putin was “having trouble replenishing particularly precision-guided munitions, because of export controls and sanctions, which limit his ability to acquire some of the microelectronics that support them.”
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Lederer reported from the United Nations. AP writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Jill Lawless in London contributed reporting.
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