Iranian drones must be destroyed
Iran Has Begun Training Russia to Use Its Advanced Drones, U.S. Says
Training indicates Moscow plans to use Tehran’s military weapons to try and seize a new aerial advantage in Ukraine
A handout image from the Iranian Army/WANA dated July 15 of a drone launched from an Iranian military ship in the Indian ocean, Iran.
PHOTO: WANA NEWS AGENCY/VIA REUTERS
Iran has begun training Russian officials to use its advanced drones, according to the Biden administration, the latest sign that Moscow plans to use Tehran’s military weapons to try to seize a new aerial advantage in Ukraine.
Iranian officials launched the training in recent weeks as part of an agreement for Tehran to send hundreds of drones to Russia, according to a U.S. official, who cited recently declassified U.S. intelligence.
The Biden administration first released intelligence last month on the secret talks between Russia and Iran in an effort to deter the two countries from following through on plans to use the drones against Ukrainian forces. But the recent training suggests that Iran and Russia are still preparing to send the drones into battle. Russia and Iran have rejected the U.S. allegations.
The Kremlin and Russia’s defense ministry didn’t respond Wednesday to requests for comment. Iran’s foreign ministry denied that the country was involved in providing drones to Russia.
A handout image from the Iranian Army/WANA dated July 15 showing Iran’s Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi on a ship before it launches its drones.
PHOTO: WANA NEWS AGENCY/VIA REUTERS
Last month, the U.S. released unclassified images the White House said showed Russian officials visiting an Iranian military drone base. The U.S. said Iran showed the Russian delegation two different kinds of drones that could be used in Ukraine: the Shahed-129, a Predator-style drone that can fly more than 1,000 miles with missiles, and the Shahed-191, a flying-wing drone capable of carrying missiles for about 300 miles.
Both drones would provide Moscow with valuable new firepower to use against Ukraine, which has been deploying Turkish drones against Russian forces with great effect.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan said last month that Russia “deepening an alliance with Iran to kill Ukrainians is something that the whole world should look at.”
Iran has emerged as one of the world’s most feared drone developers. The U.S. and Israel have accused Iran and its proxies of using its drones to carry out attacks against Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, American forces in Syria, and ships in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. officials say that Russia has turned to Iran for help in countering American military support for Ukraine. The U.S. is sending Ukraine more than 500 small kamikaze-style battlefield drones. And Turkey has provided Ukraine with 50 more advanced drones that the military has used to destroy Russian convoys and warships. The Turkish Bayraktar drone has been so effective that Ukrainians even wrote a folk song celebrating it.
Turkish media reported this week that Baykar, the Turkish company that makes the Bayraktar, is in the process of building a drone factory in Ukraine.
—Aresu Eqbali contributed to this article.
Write to Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com
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