Russia agreed in 2024 to supply Iran with 90 advanced missile launchers, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing documents from a Russian defence manufacturer. The launchers carry Russia's LMUR guided missiles, which Russia has used widely in Ukraine since 2022. They are built for Iran's existing Mi-28 attack helicopters. Al Jazeera could not confirm if the order has been delivered.
The deal emerged as Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei visited Moscow on Thursday to discuss expanding military ties with President Vladimir Putin. Rezaei delivered a message from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei aimed at "further development of bilateral cooperation," the Kremlin said Friday.
The reported supply illustrates deepening military relations between Moscow and Tehran since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In January 2025, the countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty covering trade, military cooperation, science, culture and education. The treaty took effect in October that year but does not include a mutual defence clause, unlike Russia's pact with North Korea.
Iran has supplied Moscow with ammunition, artillery shells, firearms, short-range ballistic missiles, helmets and flak jackets during the Ukraine war. On Saturday, Iran's army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said Tehran had also bought Russian Su-35 fighter jets.
Rezaei said talks with Putin focused on security arrangements in the region and Russia's support for ending what he called US "aggression" against Iran. Western intelligence officials warn the Russia-Iran relationship has deepened further amid the US war in the Middle East, despite President Donald Trump's recent claims that Moscow was doing "very little, if anything" to help Iran.