Iran has signed a secret arms deal with Russia worth €500 million to restore air defense systems severely damaged during last year's war with Israel, the Financial Times reported, citing a document obtained by the newspaper and sources familiar with the deal.
According to the newspaper, the agreement was signed in Moscow in December, and deliveries are planned for 2027-2029. However, one source noted that some of the systems may have already been transferred to Iran. The deal concerns 500 Verba portable rocket launchers and 2,500 missiles. The missile costs €170,000 and the launcher €40,000. The contract also includes 500 Mowgli-2 night vision devices, the publication reports.
The deal was concluded between Rosoboronexport and the Moscow office of the Iranian Ministry of Defense (MODAFL), the media outlet reports. However, the state-owned company itself did not respond to the publication's request for comment, and the Kremlin also refused to answer journalists' questions. According to the newspaper, the deal was overseen by MODAFL official Ruhollah Katebi, whom the United States added to its sanctions list in 2024, calling him the "Russian government's contact person" for the Iranian Ministry of Defense.
Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali earlier told Iranian television that several recent flights from Russia had contained military cargo: "For several years, we have been concluding important military and defense agreements with Russia. "I can only say that these deliveries show that the agreements are being implemented," the newspaper quoted him as saying. He did not provide details.
According to the newspaper, a Russian Il-76TD transport plane has flown from Mineralnye Vody to Karaj in Iran at least three times in the past eight days, with another flight taking place in late December. The publication also claims that Iran received up to six Russian Mi-28 attack helicopters in January and used one of them in Tehran this month.
Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the agreements reached between Moscow and Tehran during talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin opened new horizons for cooperation between the two countries. He said Tehran had decided "quickly and clearly" to implement the 20-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement with Russia, signed a year ago.
The document states that in the event of an attack on one of the parties, the other "will not provide any military or other assistance to the aggressor" and will assist in settling the dispute. Unlike a similar agreement between Russia and the DPRK, it does not include a clause on military support in the event of aggression against the parties.
“Even in the context of the agreement that we have with Iran, there is no provision for mutual military assistance in such situations. There is no such provision“, stressed presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said last summer that Russia and Iran cooperate in many areas, but the content of these contacts was not disclosed. “Our strategic partnership with Iran is indestructible“, he said.