TEHRAN: Dozens of Russian servicemen are being trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 short-range ballistic missile system, two European intelligence sources told Reuters, adding that they expected the imminent delivery of hundreds of satellite-guided weapons to Russia for his war in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Ministry officials are understood to have signed a contract on Dec. 13 in Tehran with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another ballistic missile system built by the government-owned Aerospace Industries Organization (AIO), called Ababil, according to reports. officials, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Citing multiple confidential intelligence sources, the officials said Russian personnel visited Iran to learn how to operate the Fath-360 defense system, which launches missiles with a maximum range of 120 km (75 miles) and a warhead of 150 kg. One of the sources said the “only possible step” after the training would be to actually deliver the missiles to Russia.
Moscow has a number of ballistic missiles of its own, but the supply of the Fath-360 could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line while using Iranian warheads for closer-range targets, an expert said military.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council said the United States and its NATO allies and G7 partners “stand ready to provide a swift and severe response should Iran move forward with such transfers.”
“It would represent a dramatic escalation of Iran's support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine,” the spokesman said. “The White House has repeatedly warned of deepening the security partnership between Russia and Iran since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Iran's permanent mission to the UN in New York said in a statement that the Islamic Republic has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with Russia in various fields, including military cooperation.
“However, from an ethical point of view, Iran refrains from transferring any weapons, including missiles, that could be used in the conflict with Ukraine until its conclusion,” the statement said.
The White House refused to confirm that Iran was training Russian military personnel on the Fath-360 or that it was preparing to deliver the weapons to Russia for use against Ukraine.
The two intelligence sources did not give an exact time frame for the expected delivery of the Fath-360 missiles to Russia, but said it would be soon. They did not provide information on the status of Abibal's contract.
A third intelligence source from another European agency said it had also received information that Russia had sent soldiers to Iran to train in the use of Iranian ballistic missile systems, without providing further details.
Such training is standard practice for Iranian weapons supplied to Russia, said the third source, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the information.
A senior Iranian official, who requested anonymity, said Iran had sold missiles and drones to Russia but had not supplied Fath-360 missiles. There was no legal ban on Tehran selling such weapons to Russia, the source added.
“Iran and Russia are engaged in the mutual purchase of military parts and equipment. How each country uses this equipment is entirely their decision,” the official said, adding that Iran has not sold Russia weapons for use in the Ukraine war.
As part of military cooperation, Iranian and Russian officials often traveled between the two states, the official added.
“Destabilizing Actions”
Until now, Iran's military support for Moscow has been mainly limited to unmanned Shahed attack drones, which carry some of the explosives and are easier to shoot down because they are slower than ballistic missiles.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said in July 2023 that a new training system for the Fath 360 had been successfully tested by the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ground force.
Justin Bronk, Senior Research Fellow for Air Power at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based defense think-tank, said: “Delivering large numbers of short-range ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia would allows for further growth. under pressure on Ukraine's already overstretched missile defense systems.”
“As ballistic threats, they could only be reliably intercepted by the top tier of Ukrainian systems,” he said, referring to the most sophisticated air defenses Ukraine has, such as the US Patriot and European SAMP systems /T.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry had no immediate comment.
In March, G7 leaders expressed concern over reports Iran was considering transferring ballistic missiles to Russia and warned in a statement that they would respond in a coordinated manner with significant measures against Iran.
The NSC spokesman, in response to questions from Reuters, noted that Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, “has claimed that he wants to moderate Iran's policies and engage with the world. Destabilizing actions like this fly in the face of that rhetoric.”
A British government spokesman expressed deep concern at reports suggesting Russian military personnel are being trained in Iran. “Iran must not continue” with the transfer of ballistic missiles, he said.
UN Security Council restrictions on Iran's export of missiles, drones and other technology expired in October 2023. However, the United States and the European Union have kept sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program amid concerns about arms exports to his representatives in the Middle East and to Russia.
Reuters reported in February on deepening military cooperation between Iran and Russia and Moscow's interest in Iranian surface-to-surface missiles.
Sources told the news agency at the time that about 400 Fateh-110 longer-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles had been delivered. But European intelligence sources told Reuters that to their knowledge no transfer had yet taken place.
Ukrainian authorities have not publicly reported finding Iranian missile remnants or wartime debris.
