Russia is reportedly supplying Iran with drone and missile components, explosives and other military equipment as Tehran races to rebuild weapons stockpiles heavily damaged by American and Israeli airstrikes during the war.
More than two dozen Russian vessels, many of which are subject to U.S. and European sanctions, have crossed the Caspian Sea carrying military supplies to the Iranian port of Amirabad, according to NBC News, which cited shipping documents and a Western official familiar with the deliveries.
The shipments are another indication of the increasingly close military relationship between Moscow and Tehran. At the same time, former CIA analyst Jim Lamson said Iran’s apparent reliance on Russian supplies suggests that U.S. and Israeli attacks inflicted significant damage on the Islamic Republic’s domestic weapons-production capabilities.
“Iran’s procurement of drone components and small arms ammunition from Russia strongly suggests that Israeli and US military strikes on Iran’s facilities that produce these items have degraded Iran’s domestic capability to produce them,” he said.
The Russian vessels allegedly carrying the military cargo are operated by MG-FLOT, a maritime company that was placed under Western sanctions in 2024.
Russia has repeatedly faced accusations that it is helping Tehran sustain its war effort, including reports that Moscow has provided Iran with upgraded drones designed to strengthen its ability to attack American targets.
The Kremlin has also developed more advanced versions of Iran’s Shahed suicide drones, weapons that became a major component of Russia’s campaign against Ukraine and have been used extensively in attacks there for years.
Although American strikes have reportedly crippled significant portions of Iran’s missile-production infrastructure, Tehran continues to insist that it retains substantial weapons stockpiles and remains capable of carrying out further attacks.
The reported transfers have heightened concerns that Russia is now helping replenish Iran’s military capabilities in return for the assistance Tehran provided Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The precise quantity and types of equipment transferred by Moscow to Tehran remain uncertain. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied allegations about Russian military assistance to Iran, dismissing such reports as “fake news.”
President Trump has also played down the significance of any Russian assistance to Iran. Last month, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally assured him that Moscow was not selling weapons to Tehran.
Trump further said that whatever assistance Russia may have provided “has been very unimpactful,” responding after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of supplying Iran with satellite imagery of American military bases.
