Moscow -

The statement by Yury Ushakov, assistant to the Russian president, who denied that President Vladimir Putin had discussed with the Iranian leadership the issue of delivering Iranian drones to Moscow, did not end the controversy in this regard, and the media is still discussing this file.

The story began when the United States, through its Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ned Price, announced its willingness to impose new sanctions on Iran if it agreed to provide Russia with drones.

This is the first time that a controversial topic has been raised after the Russian President’s visit to Iran. Generally, Putin came to Tehran for the first time in 2007, but his regular visits did not start until 2015, and all of them were working visits, meaning he had never made an official visit to the Islamic Republic. .

And each time his visits were linked to a multilateral event in the Iranian capital, such as the Caspian Sea Forum and the Gas Exporting Countries Summit, and in his last visit, Biden was linked to the Astana Formula framework meeting (the tripartite summit between Russia, Turkey and Iran) to discuss ways to settle the conflict in Syria.

Drones revealed by the Iranian army months ago, and it is believed that a deal to supply them to Russia may happen soon (French)

effective weapon

Drones have always been part of the means of reconnaissance in the vicinity of the Russian army's fire in Ukraine, and they play an important role in the military operation there, as they are the eyes and ears of the army and the striking and influential force.

And it became known that for the first time the Russian army attacked the positions of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Zaporozhye region with the help of the "Lancet-3 Kamikaze" drones, which were previously used in Syria.

The Russian Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle plays a key role in reconnaissance and strike operations, has the ability to destroy armored vehicles, and works primarily with artillery and other means of destruction.

With the help of these Russian planes, the first American "HIMARS" missile systems that arrived in Ukraine recently, in addition to the American "howitzers" and the French "Caesar", were destroyed.


silent deals

However, Russian experts say that Iran has achieved very good results in the manufacture of drones, and at the same time they believe that it is now difficult to determine what is actually happening between Moscow and Tehran in this field, given that military-technical cooperation between them is often closed, and in some cases Sometimes some contracts are not revealed at all until years later when it can no longer be possible to continue concealing them.

In this context, Andrei Ontikov, a specialist in Middle Eastern affairs, recalls the deal through which Russia supplied Iran more than a decade ago with several radar stations, and it was only revealed not long ago, explaining the "silence" of both countries with the sanctions imposed on Tehran.

And he continues, in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, that given that sanctions have also been announced against Russia, one of the two sides - most likely - will not reveal any deals in the military-technical field, and it is likely that the parties will keep them as secret as possible.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran (Anatolia)

More than drones

Ontikov considers that regardless of the issue of Iranian drones, the two countries have something to offer each other. Iran is interested in combat aircraft and attack helicopters, which it has not yet been able to produce due to international sanctions, and it shows a strong interest in advanced Russian capabilities in this field.

On the other hand, the Russian expert does not rule out his country's interest in Iranian drones, which - in his opinion - are a priority for Tehran, which has been able to manufacture a wide range of aircraft for reconnaissance and bombing purposes and the so-called "Kamikaze" drones with unique models.

According to him, the interest in Moscow may have increased after the Houthis attacked oil facilities in Saudi Arabia last year, using explosive drones in addition to missiles, without the air defense systems that the Saudis bought from the United States succeeded in detecting.

Ontikov adds that interest increased after what happened in 2018, when Israel shot down an Iranian drone that violated its airspace, and it turned out that it was almost an exact copy of the American "Lockheed Martin" plane.

While the Iranians succeeded in controlling the American plane and landing it smoothly, its Iranian counterpart was a somewhat difficult target for the Israelis, as the Iranian plane was able to avoid many attempts to shoot it down by the Israeli American-made Patriot missile batteries, and the Israelis did not succeed in bringing it down except with artillery fire and from close range. .

For his part, political analyst Pyotr Akopzov does not rule out that the issue of Iranian drones has been discussed, perhaps at the level of Russian delegations to Tehran for the same purpose.

In his opinion, the strengthening of Russian-Iranian relations - especially in recent times and with the outbreak of war in Ukraine - allows to talk about a new transformation in military-technical cooperation, as well as other areas.


To avoid provocation

Akopzov attributes the hypothesis of such an agreement, while at the same time not revealing it, to the fact that Moscow and Tehran have no interest in "provoking the West", due to international circumstances in general and the two countries being under Western sanctions.

At the same time, he wonders about the fuss that Washington is making towards military cooperation between Iran and Russia, while it and its European allies are providing the Ukrainian side, on a daily and public basis, with advanced weapons to confront the Russian forces.

"It is not surprising that a Russian-Iranian deal regarding drones occurred, especially in light of the two countries' orientation towards concluding a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement for a period of 20 or 25 years that may be signed this year," the analyst said.

He believes that the Iranian experience is currently of great importance to Russia, especially after the high level it enjoys in this field emerged after it was able in 2011 to intercept the high-tech American drone, "Lockheed Martin", which is controlled by the Central Intelligence Agency. And the Iranian air defense not only succeeded in discovering them, but also landing them at an Iranian air base and studying them carefully.