Russia To Build Attack Drones Designed By Iran: Intel Assessment

Iran and Russia have reached a deal to begin the production of attack drones in Russia, according to a new intelligence assessment from a country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program, Kylie Atwood reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: A spokesperson for the Iranian Mission to the United Nations did not deny the suggestion that Iran will help Russia manufacture drones, but claimed that Iran abides by the principles of “sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity.”

Iran is beginning to transfer blueprints and components for the drones to Russia after the deal was struck earlier this month. US officials have said that Russia has received hundreds of drones from Tehran.

Iran admitted that it had sent a limited number of drones to Russia before the start of its invasion of Ukraine.

“Some western countries have accused Iran of helping the war in Ukraine by providing drones … we did provide a limited number of drones to Russia in the months before the start of the war in Ukraine,” Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters in Tehran, Natasha Bertrand and Jennifer Hansler also reported for CNN.

The goal is for Russia to produce thousands of new attack drones using Iranian components and blueprints. If the two countries move ahead full-steam with their plan, production could begin in a few months and it is possible the drones could be used by Russia in Ukraine next year.

It would be a move that would further cement the partnership between Tehran and Moscow and likely provoke the fury of Ukraine, the US, and western allies. The Washington Post first reported the agreement.

The efforts come after CNN and other outlets reported that Iran was sending more weapons, including surface-to-surface short range ballistic missiles and attack drones, to Russia before yearend.

The source said those reports caused concern in Iran, which appears to have prompted the regime to rethink its approach with the plan for Russia to manufacture the drones rather than for Iran to directly transfer them.

A spokesperson for the Iranian Mission to the United Nations did not deny the suggestion that Iran will help Russia manufacture drones, but claimed that Iran abides by the principles of “sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity.”

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic