Russia will receive hundreds of Fath-360 and other ballistic missiles from Iran in the near future under an agreement signed between Moscow and Tehran in December 2023, intelligence sources told Reuters on August 9.

The unnamed intelligence sources told According to Reuters, dozens of Russian military personnel are currently training in Iran with the Fath-360 short-range missile system.

Iran is one of Russia’s closest allies on the international stage. The two countries have their military and political cooperation since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In particular, Iran has given Russia thousands of Shahed Kamikaze Drones since the beginning of the total war. In February, Reuters also reported that Tehran “a large number of powerful ballistic surface-to-surface missiles” to support Moscow’s invasion.

Unidentified Iranian sources told the New York Times on August 5 that Iran required modern air defence systems from Russia, which is preparing for a possible war with Israel; deliveries are already underway.

The Fath-360 missiles reportedly have a range of 120 kilometers and a 150 kilogram warhead.

Although intelligence sources did not provide a precise timetable for the expected arms delivery, they indicated that it was imminent.

A spokesman for the US National Security Council told Reuters regarding the possible missile delivery that Western allies were “prepared to respond quickly and decisively should Iran carry out such missile deliveries.”

The transfers “would represent a dramatic escalation of Iranian support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” the spokesman added. “The White House has repeatedly warned against deepening the security partnership between Russia and Iran since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.”

Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York denied in a statement to Reuters that the country would deliver the missiles.

“For ethical reasons, Iran will refrain from supplying any weapons, including missiles, that could potentially be used in the conflict with Ukraine until that conflict is over,” the statement said, despite mounting evidence of Iranian-made weapons in Ukraine.

NYT: Iran asks Russia for air defense to prepare for possible war with Israel

Russia’s top security official, former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, visited Tehran on August 5 as the country reportedly prepares to retaliate against Israel for the July 31 assassination of Hamas politician Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil.