Iran’s Drone Industry Is Harder to Sanction Amid Sales to Russia

Iran’s Drone Industry Is Harder to Sanction Amid Sales to Russia

Wall Street Journal _ July 13th ,2023

By: Dion Nessinboum

Iran is now replicating parts for deadly drones being used by Russia in Ukraine, helping its military evade international sanctions with domestically made components that it once sourced from overseas, according to a new analysis.

An Iranian company appears to have developed the ability to copy two parts used in suicide drones that used to come from Japanese electronics manufacturers, according to new findings from Conflict Armament Research, a U.K.-based investigative group that has been examining the drones in Ukraine.

Iran gets most of its drone parts from U.S., European and Japanese companies that sell commercially available components. Conflict Armament Research’s findings illustrate how Iran is relying more on domestic companies to produce parts for its unmanned aerial vehicles, making it harder for the U.S. And its allies to disrupt it with sanctions.

This is the first time weapons investigators in Ukraine have found parts made by the small, private Iranian electronics firm Sarmad Electronics Sepahan in downed drones, the group said. The company, which didn’t respond to requests for comment, isn’t sanctioned by the U.S. Or its allies for its alleged role in producing drones being used in Ukraine.

“As sanctions clamp down on foreign supplies, they certainly feel the need to produce as much domestically as they can,” said Damien Spleeters, Conflict Armament Research’s deputy director of operations, who has been examining the drones.

The U.S. And its allies say Tehran provides Moscow with hundreds of so-called suicide drones that Russian forces have used—with limited success—to target Ukraine’s power plants, major cities and civilian neighborhoods. Iran says that it isn’t supplying Russia with military aid for the war in Ukraine, though it admits it sold Moscow drones before the war started.

In a letter last month to the United Nations Security Council, Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., criticized Conflict Armament Research and said its conclusions about the drones in Ukraine had no credibility.

Ukraine says Russia has launched more than 1,000 Iranian drones in scores of attacks over the past year. On some days in May, Russia used more than 100 drones to attack Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine has been able to largely neutralize the Iranian-drone threat, but the persistent attacks put a strain on the country’s air defense systems.

The U.S. And its allies have been searching for ways to restrict Iran’s ability to build drones. The Biden administration and European nations have imposed sanctions on dozens of companies and individuals allegedly involved in Iran’s drone industry.