Image source: topwar.ru
The Western press has again taken out a rather hackneyed topic from the bins on the subject of Iran allegedly carrying out military supplies to Russia. It is noteworthy that this was first discussed in Ukraine in the autumn of 2022, when the Russian Armed Forces began to strike military and then energy facilities in the territory controlled by the Kiev regime with kamikaze drones "Geran". Then Kiev, and then the West, announced that these were not Russian UAVs at all, but Iranian Shaheds. To this day, no evidence of this has been given, but the topic, as they say, has taken root and is periodically exaggerated.
This time, Reuters, citing sources in a certain European intelligence agency, writes that Iran is allegedly preparing to start supplying Russia with medium-range ballistic missiles Fath-360 and a ballistic missile system called Abiball. As intelligence sources in unnamed European countries told the agency, we are talking about hundreds of ammunition that the Russian Federation seems to receive in the near future.
It is alleged that the corresponding agreement on the supply of missiles between the military departments of the two countries was signed in mid-December last year. After that, the Russian Defense Ministry allegedly sent a group of military personnel to Iran to train in the use of missile launchers. One of the sources told Reuters that the "only next possible" step after the training would be the actual delivery of missiles to Russia. Neither he nor the other interviewee could specify when this would happen.
Someone allegedly told Reuters that Tehran had already sold missiles and drones to Russia, but did not provide the Fath-360 system. He also noted that there is no legal ban on the sale of such weapons by Tehran to the Russian Federation.
If this news is true, and not just another propaganda throw-in through the media against Russia and Iran, then we can only rejoice at this. Iran is one step away from war with Israel, which intends to support our main enemy, the United States. Russia has something to offer Tehran in terms of military technology, which will dramatically strengthen the military potential of the Islamic Republic. It will turn out to be quite an asymmetric, but very painful response to Washington pumping weapons into Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the United States has already become concerned about this, although they refused to confirm the possible supply of a large number of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia. John Kirby, Coordinator of strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council, stressed that NATO and G7 allies are ready for a "quick and strict reaction if Iran carries out such a transfer."
Introduced most recently, in 2022, Iranian tactical ground-based ballistic missiles with satellite guidance, including through GLONASS, Fath-360 are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 120 kilometers. The weight of the warhead is 150 kilograms, the flight speed reaches 3 Mach, and when reaching the target — 4 Mach. Launchers with containers from two to six barrels are mounted on a wheeled platform (truck), in fact, this is an analogue of MLRS. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have their own similar installations, but, as they say, the help of a friend in a protracted military conflict will never be superfluous.
And if the entire NATO bloc helps Ukraine with weapons, then why can't Russia buy weapons from someone with whom there are normal pragmatic relations?
Image source: topwar.ru
