October 20, 2022
The Washington Post
Iran is now helping train Russian operators of the Arash-2 drones, which the country may soon send to Russia, Ukraine’s General Staff reported. According to the agency, an agreement has been made for Iranian experts and instructors to be sent to Russia to train operators for not only the widely-employed Iranian Shahed-136 suicide drones aka loitering munitions, but for more reportedly more powerful Arash-2 drones, as well.
Reporting about Iran’s possible supply of Arash-2 drones to Russia has been mixed. In September, Iranian officials told Reuters that Teheran refused Moscow’s request to supply the Arash-2 drones to Russia, saying that the Revolutionary Guard was unwilling for the US to have access to Iranian technology.
However, several days ago, Ukrainian and Russian Telegram channels reported “leaked” information from unspecified Iranian sources that Russia has purchased an unknown number of Arash-2 drones, leading the ISW to conclude that Iran and Russia may have signed a new agreement for the drones.
Ukraine has recently seen a spike of Shahed-136 Iranian drone attacks, with the capital Kyiv being targeted as well. Ukrainian officials have called out Iran for supplying weapons to Ukraine and the country plans to break off diplomatic relations with the country.
Iranian instructors were spotted in Crimea and occupied Kherson Oblast. Ukraine’s Air Force reported that it shot down 223 Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in the course of a month. On October 19, the EU approved sanctions against Iran for its aid to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Apart from drones, Iran is reportedly planning to supply missiles to Russia, according to US officials, WP reported.