Iran delivers hundreds of ballistic missile to Russia

Iran has delivered a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles to Russia, highlighting the deepening military ties between the two US-sanctioned countries.

Sources told Reuters that the delivery includes the Fateh-110 family of short-range ballistic weapons, such as the Zolfaghar. Experts say that these road-mobile missiles are capable of attacking targets at a distance of between 300 and 700 km.

The shipments, which began in early January, are part of a deal struck by Tehran and Moscow last year.

An Iranian military official - who, like the other sources, asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the information - said there had been at least four shipments of missiles till now and that there would be more in the coming weeks. He declined to provide further details.

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Another Iranian source said that some of the deliveries were made to Russia via the Caspian Sea while others were made by plane.

“There will be more shipments,” the second Iranian official said. “There is no reason to hide it. We are allowed to export weapons to any country that we wish to.”

In January, the White House national security spokesperson John Kirby had warned that Russia and Iran were close to striking a deal to acquire short-range ballistic missiles, in addition to missiles Russia had already received from North Korea.

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However, Ukraine’s top prosecutor last week said that the missiles provided by North Korea to Russia are ineffective, with only 24 of them hitting the target.

By contrast, Jeffrey Lewis, an expert with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said the Fateh-110 family of missiles and the Zolfaghar were precision weapons.

“They are used to point at things that are high value and need precise damage,” said Lewis, adding that 400 munitions could inflict considerable harm if used in Ukraine. He noted, however, that Russian bombardments were already “pretty brutal”.