Documents prove Iran sold rockets and artillery ammunition to Russia.

According to Deborah Haynes in SkyNews on June 5, a reliable security source has disclosed that an alleged arms contract provides concrete evidence that Iran has indeed sold ammunition to Russia for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The document, if proven authentic, consists of 16 pages and is dated September 14, 2022.
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Iranian M48 120mm mortar rounds captured on Russian troops by the Ukrainian army (Picture source: 24th Ukrainian Mechanized Brigade via mil.in.ua)

The document pertains to the sale of artillery and tank shells, as well as rockets of various sizes, with a total value slightly exceeding $1 million. Alongside this contract, the source also shared five pages of a purportedly related agreement, involving barrels for a T-72 tank, barrels for a howitzer, and ammunition shells, valued at approximately $740,000.

While Sky News has been unable to independently verify the authenticity of these documents, the security source insists that they are genuine, stating, "This is a contract between the Iranians and the Russians regarding munitions... We believe it is 100% authentic." The Russian and Iranian embassies in the UK did not respond to requests for comment regarding the alleged arms deal or the veracity of the documents.

When Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visited Britain in May, Sky News presented the documents to him, as well as to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Both Kyiv and London expressed their intent to investigate the authenticity of the materials and take appropriate action if they are deemed credible. In a recent interview with Sky News, Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, confirmed suspicions of such a transaction, stating, "As soon as we verify it properly, we will be able to act upon this."

Foreign Secretary Cleverly highlighted that the UK has already imposed sanctions on Tehran for supplying attack drones to Russia, which have been used to terrorize Ukrainian cities. He asserted that if there is evidence of Iran providing military support to Russia in its attempted invasion of Ukraine, the UK will respond accordingly, consistently taking action in such instances.

According to a report from the mil.in.ua website, Russia has received a significant amount of weaponry from Iran over the past six months. The Wall Street Journal has cited unnamed officials from the Middle East confirming that Russian ships have been transporting a substantial quantity of Iranian-made artillery ammunition and other weapons across the Caspian Sea. This information aligns with a previous investigation conducted by SkyNews, which highlighted the flow of arms from Iran through the Caspian Sea.

The SkyNews investigation suggested that approximately 100 million bullets of various calibers, including 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 9mm, 12.7mm, and 14.5mm, were transported in a single cargo shipment. Additionally, Iran has reportedly delivered 300,000 shells to Russia, comprising 40mm grenades for grenade launchers, 107mm anti-tank rockets, mortar shells of different sizes (60mm, 81mm, and 120mm), as well as artillery rockets (130mm, 122mm, and 152mm), and 115mm and 125mm armor shells.

To transport these weapons, Iran primarily utilizes cargo planes, which makes interference during transit nearly impossible. However, shipping munitions through the Caspian Sea proves to be a cheaper and simpler logistical option, albeit requiring coordination with the former Soviet republics that border the sea.

Iranian ammunition (Picture source: Iranian media via mil.in.ua)

Defense News June 2023