Urgent! Western & Indian heavy weapons already in Armenia Endless arms deliveries via Iran risk fresh war

The process of militarisation of Armenia continues at a shocking pace. Incredible but true: the West, which actively defends the “principle of territorial integrity” in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, is actively pumping offensive, lethal weapons into the country that until recently occupied 20% of Azerbaijani territory and still refuses to exclude territorial claims to Karabakh from its constitution. A country that is one of the main hubs for circumventing anti-Russian sanctions, as well as a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the  Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)! Creating an opportunity for Armenia to make money from the Russian-Ukrainian war, the US, France, and the European Union are rushing to arm an increasingly aggressive and revanchist Armenia, which is becoming more aggressive and revanchist with each new shell it receives. India, which gravitates towards the Western bloc, is also carrying out intensive supplies. Our “brotherly” southern neighbour, Iran, has also actively joined the pumping of modern weapons into the Armenian army. But let's talk about everything in order.

Thanks to Iran French weaponry is already in Armenia

According to exclusive materials received by Caliber.Az from verified diplomatic and military sources, modern French 155mm self-propelled artillery units CAESAR and their spare parts, as well as anti-tank missile systems and air-to-air missiles, have been delivered to Armenia over the past few weeks.

CAESAR self-propelled artillery unit

As our editorial board has learnt, the weapons are being shipped from the French airport Orly to the Iranian airport Mehrabad, from where the Iranian airline Meraj delivers the weapons directly to the final destination - Armenia.

Confirming facts, with which  Caliber.Az editorial staff had the opportunity to get acquainted, show that one division of CAESAR self-propelled artillery units (12 pieces) has been delivered to Armenia so far. To better understand the scale of the delivery: at the time of the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the French army had only 76 Caesars on its balance!

In addition, the Armenian army received dozens of R511 and R530 air-to-air missiles, 30 Eryx anti-tank missiles, dozens of German-made DM32 grenade launchers (also known as bunkerfaust), as well as Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank systems. Moreover, the Armenian armed forces were supplied with about 500 French-made Apilas disposable hand-held rocket-propelled grenades and 50 American BGM71-TOW anti-tank missile systems.

Eryx anti-tank missile

Panzerfaust 3 anti-tank system

Apilas single-use portable rocket-propelled grenade

BGM71-TOW anti-tank missile system

Among the above, the French R511 and R530 air-to-air missiles particularly caught our attention.

R530 air-to-air missile

According to military experts, after appropriate modification, they will be installed on modern Su-30 SM fighters, which are on the balance sheet of the Armenian Air Force. The same ones that Russia supplied, as Nikol Pashinyan admitted, “without missiles”. There are precedents of such modifications in India, and it is not excluded that the adaptation process will be carried out by Indian military specialists who already have relevant experience.

Su-30 CM of the Armenian Air Force

Finally, we note the presence of German and American weapons in the nomenclature of military supplies. The fact of their deliveries to Armenia testifies to the fact that Germany and the US gave the French the relevant permits - without the approval procedure, German Panzerfausts and Bunkerfausts, as well as American TOWs could not be at the disposal of the Armenian army. We have already reported in detail that the United States is directly involved in the militarisation of Armenia. The involvement of the Germans in this process is new information.

Indian arms are also in Armenia - thanks again to Iran

Azerbaijan is also aware of the fact that in parallel with the transfer of French weapons by air, the Iranian seaport Bandar Abbas receives military cargoes from India, also intended for further transport to Armenia.

The following detail is also noteworthy: both French and Indian weapons supplied to Armenia are partly declared officially, but partly transported under the names of civilian goods. This, in turn, is a flagrant violation of international trade law and international regulations governing logistical activities. Simply put, this is smuggling. The purpose of such a “mixed” scheme of official and grey supplies is to mislead Azerbaijan about the real scale of Armenia's militarisation. Obviously, they want to “surprise” us.

While West rushes to arm Yerevan "to the teeth," Iranians stealing technologies

Yerevan is being actively prepared for a new war against Azerbaijan, and this is being done in an incredible hurry. This, in turn, is being used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for military-industrial espionage. As we have learned, French and Indian weapons are artificially delayed in Iran under the pretext of “customs checks”. The reason, of course, is not the desire to help Azerbaijan, but the fact that Iranian military specialists, taking advantage of the opened window of opportunity, are thoroughly studying French military developments, especially CAESAR, the brainchild of the Nexter company.

At other times, the Iranian defence industry could not have dreamed of such a gift of fate! France's nerves failed only once: Iran started a full-scale dismantling of the CAESAR self-propelled artillery units into parts, after which the special services of the French embassy started sounding the alarm and demanding an end to such practices. However, Iran remained adamant: in its opinion, this is an additional “price” for the French support to Armenia. Paris had to swallow the Iranian bitter pill - what sacrifices cannot be made for the sake of its “sister" Armenia. So, we can safely expect that in the near future Western military developments will be actively used by the IRI armed forces and numerous Iranian proxies in the Middle East.

What Baku says

According to our interlocutors in military and diplomatic circles, the story of Western arms supplies to the Armenian army has triggered great disappointment in official Baku with the behaviour of Iranian partners.

Iran, which always pays lip service to the policy of “regionalism” and prevention of external actors from entering the region, today acts as a transit country for the supply of Western weapons, as well as Indian weapons produced under Western licences, to Armenia. In other words, Tehran's actions contribute to strengthening NATO's position in the South Caucasus and turning Armenia into a Western bastion in the region.

We are not talking about the policy of “Muslim solidarity” and “Shiite brotherhood”, which is - again, in words - the main value principle of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. As they say, we have seen it - both during the 30-year history of occupation of our lands and during the 44-day war. Azerbaijan has not forgotten that the Iranian army blocked the way of our advanced special units advancing in the Zangilan direction.

Now we are once again witnessing the support of our “Shiite brothers” to revanchist Armenia, which for 30 years with manic persistence erased traces of Islamic culture and kept pigs in the ruins of mosques in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur.

Baku sincerely believed that given the positive dynamics of Azerbaijani-Iranian relations, the newly elected President Masoud Pezeshkian, who seems to be proud of his Azerbaijani origin, would contribute to the pacification of the region and, among other things, to stopping the transit of Western weapons through Iran. However, this has not happened. On the contrary, the volume of arms transit to Armenia is growing rapidly.

Secret Armenia-Iran arms deal: unfortunately, it's not fake

Unfortunately, this is not the end of Iran's series of unfriendly steps towards Azerbaijan. After careful verification, Azerbaijani sources confirmed the sensational information that Iran and Armenia have signed a secret arms deal worth $500 million. Iran International, which was the first to report this, was not mistaken.

Despite the assurances of Iranian partners in private conversations and official communications about the “fake” nature of this message, the verification of facts and sources allows us to draw a disappointing conclusion: Iran, having given the go-ahead to the arms deal with Armenia, decided - once again - to make money on the blood of Azerbaijanis. Well, apparently, some countries, like people, do not change.

Afterword

To recap, we note that all the information mentioned in this article has its factual confirmation. As in the case of the US Air Force military transport planes that landed at Zvartnots airport, all evidence from relevant ports and airports in Iran and beyond will be published in due course.

Countries that are allegedly "restoring regional military balance" by supplying Western weapons to Armenia are not only failing to bring peace to the Caucasus, but, on the contrary, are making a new round of the long-standing bloody Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation inevitable. All countries involved in the process of arming and transit of weapons to Armenia, which has never recovered from revanchism, will bear their share of political and historical responsibility for the coming tragedies in the region and the forced liquidation of Armenian statehood. Apparently, the Azerbaijani army will again be compelled to act both as a surgeon and a therapist. Victory will be ours!