Russia is reportedly shipping drone components, ammunition, and explosives to Iran to help Tehran replenish military stockpiles damaged by U.S. and Israeli strikes, according to NBC News. NBC News reported Tuesday that the shipments are traveling across the Caspian Sea to Iran's Amirabad port,
citing a document from a European government that the network said was verified by a Western official. More than two dozen Russian vessels have reportedly transported the materials, with many of the ships operating under U.S. or European sanctions, according to NBC. The reported shipments include drone components, small-arms ammunition and TNT, which NBC said is used in Iranian ballistic missile warheads and drones. Former CIA analyst Jim Lamson said Iran's purchases from Russia suggest the U.S. and Israeli strikes have damaged Tehran's ability to manufacture some of those materials domestically. "Iran's procurement of drone components and small arms ammunition from Russia strongly suggests that Israeli and U.S. military strikes on Iran's facilities that produce these items have degraded Iran's domestic capability to produce them," Lamson told NBC. He said Iran would likely have to rely on foreign suppliers in the short term while rebuilding damaged production facilities. A Russian official rejected the allegations when contacted by NBC, saying, "We don't dignify fake news with an answer." The reported shipments would represent another development in an increasingly close military relationship between Moscow and Tehran. Iran has supplied Russia with Shahed drones used extensively in its war against Ukraine, while Russia has developed and upgraded versions of the Iranian-designed weapons. The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Russia had expanded military and intelligence cooperation with Iran, including providing satellite imagery and improved drone technology that could help Tehran target U.S. forces in the region. European officials also raised concerns about Russian assistance to Iran directly with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a G7 meeting in March. Reuters reported that European foreign ministers pressed Rubio over allegations that Moscow was aiding Tehran, including through satellite imagery and drone technology. Rubio appeared to downplay Russia's involvement at the time.
"I think Russia is primarily concentrating on the war they have going on right now," Rubio said, according to Reuters. "Beyond that, I don't have anything to add right now." The reported military resupply also comes as Russia's relationship with Washington remains deeply strained for reasons that extend well beyond the Iran conflict. Russia has been at war with Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and the Trump administration's efforts to broker a settlement have repeatedly run into major differences between Moscow and Kyiv. Rubio met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
in Manila in July, but Rubio said afterward that new ideas would be needed to move the peace process forward. Reuters reported that Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's readiness for a political and diplomatic settlement. On Aug. 14, Lavrov accused Washington of being deeply involved in Ukrainian attacks against Russia through the provision of intelligence and said Moscow was seeking answers from the U.S. State Department. Russia and Iran have increasingly aligned against U.S. pressure and Western sanctions, although Moscow has stopped short of entering the Iran conflict directly. The precise quantity and military significance of the reported shipments remain unclear, and Russia has denied the allegations. © 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved. |
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