Growing rapprochement
The Guardian writes that a 10-member Russian delegation in Tehran has selected six Mohajer-6 drones, which have a range of around 200 kilometers and carry two missiles under each wing. In addition, 12 Shahed 191 and 129 drones have also been selected. They can attack both from the air and from the ground.
The revelations show the growing rapprochement between Iran and Russia, both hostile to the United States. Last August, US officials said Iran had begun showing Shahed 191 and 129 drones to Russia in June. Officials expected Tehran to sell them to Moscow.
Caspian Sea
Most of the drones sent to Russia were secretly taken by an Iranian ship from a base on the coast of the Caspian Sea and then transferred to the sea on a Russian navy vessel, the sources say. Iran sits on the southern border and Russia on the northwestern border of the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water, making physical transfer between allied nations relatively easy. Other drones have been shipped with an Iranian state-owned airline.
The Guardian’s resources include people who have first-hand knowledge of drone sales, their capabilities and specific manufacturing. More than four months after the uprising in Iran, cracks have opened in the country’s tightly guarded command-and-control systems, allowing for rare glimpses of deals that might otherwise not have been made public.