Iran has agreed a secret €500 million arms deal with Russia to acquire thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles in a major effort to rebuild air defenses damaged during last year’s war with Israel, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The agreement, signed in Moscow in December, commits Russia to deliver 500 man-portable Verba launch units and 2,500 9M336 missiles over three years, the FT reported, citing leaked Russian documents and several people familiar with the deal.
The Verba is described as one of Russia’s most modern shoulder-fired, infrared-guided air defense systems, capable of targeting cruise missiles, low-flying aircraft, and drones. Operated by small mobile teams, it allows forces to create dispersed defenses without relying on fixed radar installations, which are more vulnerable to strikes, the report said.
Under the €495 million contract, deliveries are scheduled in three tranches from 2027 through 2029, the FT said, adding that one person familiar with the transaction suggested a smaller number of systems could have been delivered earlier.
Tehran formally requested the systems last July, days after the end of a 12-day conflict in which the US briefly joined Israel in strikes on Iran’s three key nuclear facilities, according to a contract seen by the newspaper.
A former senior US official told the FT that Moscow likely viewed the agreement as a way to repair ties with Tehran after failing to come to its ally’s aid during the June conflict.
The deal was negotiated between Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state arms export agency, and the Moscow representative of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), FT’s report said.
The contract was arranged by Ruhollah Katebi, a Moscow-based MODAFL official who previously helped broker Iran’s sale of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles for use in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
One Russian Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo plane has made at least three runs from Mineralnye Vody in Russia’s northern Caucasus to the Iranian city of Karaj in the past eight days, FT’s report said. At least one more Il-76 flew the same route in late December.
Iran reportedly received up to six Russian Mi-28 attack helicopters in January and operated one of them in Tehran this month.
According to documents seen by the newspaper, Rosoboronexport is selling the 9M336 missiles at €170,000 per unit and the launch systems at €40,000 each.
The deal also includes 500 “Mowgli-2” night-vision sights designed to track aircraft and other targets in darkness, the report added.
Unlike larger Russian strategic air defense systems such as the S-300 and S-400, the Verba systems do not require extensive training or integration and can be deployed more quickly, FT’s report said.
The report added that Verbas have not played a significant role in Russia’s defenses against Ukrainian drone attacks, which could make Moscow more willing to part with them than other air defense systems.
