Financial Times reports Iran signed a secret deal with Russia last December for military equipment.
Secret Arms Agreement
Financial Times accessed Russian documents and people familiar with them. According to the report, the agreement was signed in Moscow last December. Under the deal, Russia is to supply 500 Verba portable missile launchers and 2,500 9M336 missiles.
The parties to the agreement are the Russian state arms exporter Rosoboroneksport and the Moscow representation of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces.
Background: US-Iran Tensions
Tehran requested the systems from Russia as early as last July, according to Reuters. Shortly before that, in July, US forces attacked three major Iranian nuclear facilities.
US President Donald Trump emphasized that key facilities were destroyed. However, according to preliminary US intelligence assessment from that time, the raids did not destroy Iran’s nuclear potential, only delaying it by several months.
Iran’s Preparations for Potential Conflict
New York Times has determined that Iran is preparing for a potential war with the US, as indicated by personnel moves by the country’s supreme leader.
As recently as January, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered Ali Larijani, chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, to “lead the country” and ensure the survival of the Islamic Republic, including its top leadership.
