Washington Post: Iran to help Russia manufacture 'weaponized' drones for war in Ukraine

The Washington Post reports citing some new intelligence seen by the U.S. and other Western security agencies that Iran and Russia have "quietly" reached an agreement to begin assembling "hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft" on Russian territory.

Iranian and Russian officials finalized the deal during a meeting in Iran in early November, and "the two countries are moving rapidly to transfer designs and key components that could allow production to begin within months," the Washington Post reports.

Russia has been using Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones against Ukraine since September, which marks the first-ever known case of Ukraine shooting down an Iranian-made drone near the liberated city of Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast.

Since then, Russia has launched waves of attacks using kamikaze drones in strikes that killed civilians and destroyed energy facilities nationwide.

Iran denied the accusations until Nov. 5, when Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian acknowledged for the first time that his country had provided drones to Russia but claimed that it happened before Russia's full-scale invasion. The statement is considered to be false.

According to the U.S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, Iran supplied dozens of combat drones to Russia this summer. Ukraine says that Iran has already provided hundreds of its drones to Russia. According to multiple reports, Iran is preparing to deliver ballistic missiles to replenish Russia's low stocks.

How Russia uses Iranian drones to try to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense

The Kyiv Independent