Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East. Now it’s sending them to Russia

Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East. Now it’s sending them to Russia

CNBC-Feb23rd2024

“Iranian material support such as drones has kept Putin fighting in Ukraine for much longer than expected. Ballistic missiles will keep him in that fight for longer now,” one analyst told CNBC.
The Fateh-110 missile has an effective range of about 190 miles, is known to be highly accurate, and has been used in strikes from Iran into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the future of U.S. military aid for Ukraine looks increasingly uncertain.

Iran has sent hundreds of its powerful ballistic missiles to the government of President Vladimir Putin in Russia, furthering the military cooperation between the two U.S. adversaries, Reuters reported this week, citing a number of unnamed senior Iranian military sources.

The reported transfer of the powerful weapons are set to strengthen Putin’s hand in Ukraine as the two-year mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor nears. It follows already-documented weapons cooperation between Tehran and Moscow since 2022, particularly with the transfer of Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russian forces have deployed to deadly effect in Ukraine.

Reuters reported that Iran delivered at least 400 of its short-range Fateh-110 ballistic missiles to Russia in January of this year, and that figure is likely to rise. Iran declined to comment to Reuters while Russia did not immediately respond.

“It was always a matter of when, not if, Iran would transfer ballistic missiles to Russia,” Behnam ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told CNBC.

“Iranian material support such as drones has kept Putin fighting in Ukraine for much longer than expected. Ballistic missiles will keep him in that fight for longer now.”

In 2022, U.S. Central Command estimated that Iran had over 3,000 ballistic missiles in its arsenal. Iran has in recent years developed advances and upgrades to its Fateh class of missiles improving things like precision, range, lethality, maneuverability, and survivability, analysts say. The Fateh-110 missile has an effective range of 300 kilometers (roughly 190 miles), is known to be highly accurate, and has been used in strikes from Iran into Iraq, Syria and Pakistan.