Bloomberg: Iran sells $3 billion worth of missiles to Russia during Ukraine war

Iran has sold nearly $3 billion in missiles to Russia to support President Vladimir Putin’s nearly four-year conflict in Ukraine, according to a Western security assessment.

According to Bloomberg, an official who asked not to be named said contracts for ballistic and surface-to-air missiles with Moscow, starting from October 2021 before the war, reach around $2.7 billion.

The agreements reportedly include hundreds of missiles of various types. Specifically, they cover the supply of hundreds of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles, along with nearly 500 additional short-range ballistic missiles. Beyond offensive capabilities, the deal also provided around 200 surface-to-air missiles for Russian air defence systems.

Western intelligence sources estimate that Iran has also delivered millions of rounds of ammunition and artillery shells. These numbers are considered preliminary, with further equipment expected under existing contracts.

A separate defence cooperation deal, signed in early 2023 and valued at $1.75 billion, focused on supplying Shahed-136 kamikaze drones and transferring technology for their production in Russia. This enabled Moscow to manufacture similar drones under the designation Geran-2.

Overall, since late 2021, Russia has spent over $4 billion on Iranian military equipment, according to the official.

Requests for comment from the Russian Defence Ministry and Iran’s Foreign Ministry were not answered by Bloomberg.

By Jeyhun Aghazada