Member of Parliament Says Iran Barters Missiles and Drones with Russian Food Items

A member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has confirmed the delivery of missiles and drones from the Islamic Republic to Russia for use in the Ukraine war, stating that Iran is bartering these weapons for wheat and soybeans from Russia. Ahmad Bakhshaei Ardestani, amidst denials from Iranian officials regarding recent Western media reports about the shipment of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia, explicitly stated on Saturday, September 8, to the Iran Watch website: "There is no color darker than black; we give missiles to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Hashd al-Shaabi, so why not to Russia?" Iran initially denied sending drones to Russia for months at the beginning of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, but ultimately, after multiple pieces of evidence were presented by Ukraine and Western countries, then-Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed the issue, claiming that the drone shipments were "limited and before the Ukraine war"; a claim that Kyiv rejected, accusing the Islamic Republic of "lying." This parliament member further stated: "To meet our needs, including soybean and wheat imports, we must barter. One part of the barter includes sending missiles and the other part sending drones to Russia." Bakhshaei Ardestani's claim about bartering drones and missiles for Russian wheat and soybeans comes while official customs and Chamber of Commerce statistics show that Iran does not import soybeans from Russia at all. Chamber of Commerce statistics indicate that Iran had nearly $2 billion in soybean imports last year, sourced from the Netherlands, the UK, Switzerland, Turkey, the UAE, and Oman, with no soybean shipments from Russia to Iran. However, Iran purchased $595 million worth of wheat along with $260 million of corn and $150 million of barley from Russia last year. The ignorance of this member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission regarding imported items from Russia and his claim about bartering Russian wheat and soybeans for Iranian drones and missiles comes while details from the Chamber of Commerce statistics show that Russia sells wheat to Iran at a price significantly higher than regional markets. For example, details from the Chamber of Commerce statistics indicate that Iran purchased regular wheat from Kazakhstan and Turkey at prices ranging from 31 to 37 cents per kilogram, while paying over 40 cents for similar wheat imported from Russia. Following reports in Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources that Iran transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, Iran's UN mission denied these reports on Friday, stating that the Islamic Republic's position "regarding the Ukraine conflict has not changed" and considers military assistance to either side as "inhumane." The Islamic Republic's representative office added that Iran "not only does not engage in such actions but also calls on other countries to stop sending weapons to the parties involved in the conflict." The White House and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry have expressed concern over the potential transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia.