Russian Missile Experts Visit Iran Amid Conflict with Israel

Reuters reported that amid missile attacks by the Islamic Republic of Iran on Israel and the latter's retaliatory responses in recent months, Russia had sent its missile experts to Iran. According to the report published on Tuesday, March 5, as Iran's security cooperation with Russia deepens, several senior Russian missile experts visited Iran in 2024. Russia is the largest arms supplier to the Islamic Republic of Iran and had previously provided Iran with S-300 air defense systems. The report, based on flight data and employment records, indicates that seven Russian arms experts traveled to Iran on two flights on April 24 and September 17, 2024. This report refers to two months during which the Islamic Republic of Iran launched hundreds of missiles and attack drones at Israel, and in response, Israel targeted sites in Iran. A military assistant to Netanyahu traveled to Russia for 'discussions about Syria.' According to a Reuters investigation using the Russian Foreign Ministry's website and databases regarding its citizens' occupations, all these Russian experts had senior military backgrounds, and 'at least six of them traveled to Iran with special passports issued for official government missions; two air defense system experts, three artillery and missile specialists, one advanced weapons development expert, and the seventh individual had a background in missile testing. Two were army colonels and two were lieutenant colonels.' A senior Iranian Defense Ministry official told Reuters that Russian missile experts made 'multiple visits' to Iran's missile production sites, including two underground facilities, in 2024. This official stated that some visits occurred in September. Additionally, a Western defense official monitoring military interactions between Moscow and Tehran reported that several Russian missile experts visited an Iranian missile base west of Amirabad port on the Caspian Sea in September. Flights were booked for 'Denis Kalko, Vadim Malof, Andrei Gusev, Alexander Antonov, Marat Khosyanov' in April, and the names of the September flights to Tehran included 'Sergei Yurchenko and Oleg Fedosov.' Mr. Fedosov, an official from a research office for 'advanced projects' in the Russian Defense Ministry, was also a passenger on a flight from Tehran to Moscow in fall 2023, using his diplomatic passport for this trip. Five of these individuals denied their presence in Iran, working for the military, or both, in contact with Reuters. One did not respond, and the seventh cut off the phone call. The Iranian Foreign and Defense Ministries, as well as the Revolutionary Guards, which oversee Iran's ballistic missile program, remained silent regarding the Reuters report, and the Russian Defense Ministry also did not respond to requests for comment. The situation for Russia in its interactions with the U.S. and Israel is 'changing.' Tehran and Moscow have expanded their military and security cooperation since the onset of the Russian army's invasion of Ukraine. During this period, Iran has been one of the arms suppliers for Russia, and according to U.S., NATO, and Ukrainian officials, Iranian drones have been widely used by the Russian army to attack Ukrainian infrastructure. The Reuters report on the visits of Russian missile experts to Iran comes as the Trump administration was taking steps to improve and restore relations between Washington and Moscow after three years of severed practical communications between U.S. and Russian leaders, while Israel has also been encouraged to enhance and make its contacts with Moscow more apparent despite concerns over Iran's nuclear program and regional activities. Israeli Channel 12 reported that Israel has taken several steps regarding Russia in recent weeks aimed at improving relations, including voting last week at the UN alongside the U.S. and Russia on a resolution related to the Russian war in Ukraine. Reuters also reported on Friday, March 1, that Israel has mediated with the U.S. to maintain Russian military air and naval bases in Syria. Additionally, Israeli media reported this week that Benjamin Netanyahu sent General Roman Gofman, his senior military assistant, to Moscow in recent days to discuss Syria, Iran, Hamas, and other issues of mutual interest to the two countries in the region. Israel has targeted Iranian air defense systems, including those of the S-300 model from Russia, in retaliatory attacks against Iran. As a major U.S. ally in the Middle East, Israel has recently received more weapons from the U.S. to counter Iran and Tehran's proxies while improving its relations with Russia, yet continues to express readiness to attack Iran's nuclear sites if Tehran and Washington do not reach the 'deal' desired by Donald Trump.