The US warned that the military alliance between Russia and Iran had become a “large-scale association” that threatens the world

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby revealed that “support is flowing both ways” as Moscow offers “an unprecedented level of military and technical support” to Tehran in exchange for Iranian drones, and potentially ballistic missiles, for use in Ukraine.

The relationship between Russia and Iran is turning into “a full-scale defense partnership” that threatens the Middle East and the rest of the world, a senior US official has said.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said “support is flowing both ways” as Moscow offers “an unprecedented level of military and technical support” to Tehran in exchange for Iranian drones, and potentially ballistic missiles, for use in Ukraine.

The new assessment, citing intelligence reports, builds on previous US reports of the sale of “hundreds” of Iranian drones, currently used by Russia to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

Now, “Russia is trying to collaborate with Iran in areas like weapons development and training,” Kirby said. The Biden administration had also previously claimed that “dozens” of Iranian technicians went to Russian-occupied Crimea, and Russians were sent to Iran, to receive instructions on the use of drones.

“We are concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with advanced military components,” Kirby said. He declined to specify what those components were, but agreed that “that could include air defense.” Russia’s S-400 air defense system is considered one of the most capable in the world.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, referring to the US remarks, said in London that the “sordid deals” between Tehran and Moscow posed a growing threat to global security. Britain, he said, “will continue to expose this hopeless alliance and hold both countries to account.”

The Biden administration last Friday announced sanctions against three Russian military entities it said were involved in training and transfers related to Iranian drones.

The administration also announced its 27th withdrawal of weapons from Defense Department stockpiles for shipment to Ukraine. The $275 million package includes additional 155mm artillery shells and ammunition for HIMARS, the high-mobility artillery rocket systems that have been particularly effective at attacking command and logistics posts behind Russian front lines, as well as as unspecified “air defense” equipment and “unmanned aerial systems”.

Systems to counter unmanned aerial systems, or drones, can include jamming devices that disrupt operational and directional radio signals sent to aircraft, as well as munitions to destroy them in flight.

Total US military aid since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine is approaching $20 billion.

The Washington Post reported last month that Moscow and Tehran had secretly agreed to start manufacturing Iranian-designed drones on Russian soil. But with Russia’s stocks dwindling, and the start of production still many months away, Iran has pledged in recent weeks to substantially increase its supply of UAVs to Moscow for the war in Ukraine, US officials have said. and allies in interviews.

The sale of additional drones was discussed during at least two meetings between Russian and Iranian military and diplomatic officials in the past month, security officials from NATO and other US-allied countries said. A senior military official briefed on details of the exchanges said Iran had agreed to supply a total of up to 6,000 planes, mostly Shahed models of the type used by Russia in attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure since the summer.

The military official agreed to discuss the matter on the condition that his identity and nationality not be disclosed, citing the sensitive nature of the intelligence-gathering efforts involved. A second official, from a NATO member state, confirmed that Iran had agreed to supply “thousands” of drones. Both officials also confirmed that Russia had also purchased Iranian ballistic missiles.

Russia has increasingly relied on relatively cheap Iranian attack UAVs to supplement its dwindling arsenal of precision weapons. Drones like the Shahed-136 – renamed Geran-2 by Russia – can travel distances of more than 1,000 miles and drop small charges of high explosives in self-detonating attacks against targets.

Iran has acknowledged selling drones to Russia, but has claimed it only did so before the invasion of Ukraine. Multiple reports have found manufacturing stamps on drone wreckage that appear to indicate component manufacturing dates that would disprove those claims.

The senior military official, citing intelligence intercepts, said Iran has agreed to supply designs as well as technical supervision of the planned Russian drone factory, which is expected to be located in the Tatarstan region. Iran will receive payments of up to $1 billion, plus other as-yet-unknown incentives, according to the official.