The Wall Street Journal: The Islamic Republic has become one of the largest exporters of cheap weapons

The Wall Street Journal reports on the emergence of the Islamic Republic as a global supplier of weapons, stating that customers of Iran's low-cost and advanced technology weapons pose a threat to the interests of the U.S. and its partners in the Middle East, Ukraine, and beyond. The report, published on February 17, highlights the transformation of Iran's arms industry, which accelerated with the sale of thousands of drones to Russia in 2022, changing the battlefield in Ukraine and enabling the Islamic Republic to increase support for militia groups in the Middle East, whose attacks have intensified amid the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The Wall Street Journal cites U.S. officials stating that one of Iran's most significant arms exports is the Shahed suicide drone, which was used to kill three American soldiers in Jordan during an attack by an Iraqi militia group on February 27. The United States announced on the same day that its Coast Guard seized over 200 weapon packages originating from Iran and destined for Yemen. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for military operations in the Middle East, stated that the shipment included missile parts and unmanned underwater and surface vehicles. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency reported that models from the same family of drones that killed American soldiers in Jordan have been used on many fronts, including by Houthi rebels in Yemen, Iraqi militias targeting Israel, and by Russia in its war against Ukraine. Mehdi Farahi, Iran's Deputy Minister of Defense, stated that Tehran sold about $1 billion worth of weapons in the year 1401 (2022), three times the amount from the previous year. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an estimate that does not include smuggled arms indicates that the Islamic Republic became the sixteenth largest arms seller in the world in 2022 with $123 million in exports, a significant jump from 2017 when Iran was the thirty-third largest arms exporter with $20 million. The United States remains the largest arms supplier in the world, exporting nearly $81 billion in arms in the fiscal year 2023. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Russia is planning to purchase short-range ballistic missiles from the Islamic Republic, which has also sent munitions to Russia. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which controls the defense industry, provides free weapons to support its allies in the Middle East, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran's UN delegation stated on Monday that 'we assist Palestinians in achieving military capabilities so they can independently resist attacks.' The delegation added, 'According to international law and UN Security Council resolutions, Iran faces no restrictions or prohibitions on buying and selling weapons.' The UN lifted the restrictions on Iran's arms trade last year, but the U.S. and the European Union impose these restrictions. Iran's suicide drones gained international notoriety in 2019 when Saudi Arabia claimed that Iran or one of its militia groups was behind a complex missile and drone attack on Saudi oil facilities, an accusation Iran denied. Defense officials in the U.S., Europe, and Israel warned until 2021 that Tehran's ability to produce and deploy drones was rapidly changing the security equation in the Middle East. According to security advisors from a European government, drone production increased after the sale of over 2,000 Shahed drones to Russia in 2022. They stated that at a price of about $20,000 each, Iran earned at least $40 million. The Wall Street Journal reported in another article on the agreement between Moscow and Tehran to build a factory to produce about six thousand drones in Russia as part of a $1 billion arms deal between the two countries. A few days after the drone attack on American forces in Jordan, U.S. President Joe Biden stated that he holds Iran responsible for supplying these drones. A few days later, the U.S. Treasury imposed new sanctions on companies supplying drone and missile components to Iran. The growth of the arms industry has been a major source of income for the Islamic Republic, which has been isolated due to sanctions and restrictions on oil sales and banking transactions.