Iran has secretly supplied Russia with large quantities of bullets, artillery and mortar shells for use in its war against Ukraine and plans to send more.
This was reported by the British TV channel Sky News with reference to a source in the security services.
The source claims that two Russian-flagged cargo ships headed for Russia via the Caspian Sea left an Iranian port in January.
The intended shipment consisted of approximately 100 million rounds of various calibers - 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, 9 mm, 12.7 mm and 14.5 mm - for use in weapons such as pistols, assault rifles and machine guns.
According to the source, the ships were also carrying a number of other munitions, including approximately 300,000 rounds, such as 40 mm grenade launchers, 107 mm anti-tank rockets and mortar mines of various sizes - 60 mm, 81 mm and 120 mm, as well artillery shells (130-mm, 122-mm and 152-mm) and armor-piercing shells (115-mm and 125-mm).
In addition, the source reported that there were about 10,000 body armor and helmets on board.
The source said that Moscow paid for the ammunition in cash and thus bypassed Western sanctions against it and against Iran.
The vessels, which were probably involved in the transportation of cargo, are named Musa Jalil and Begey. Both sail under the flag of Russia. One of the ships left Iran around January 10, the source said, and the other on around January 12. They had about 200 containers on board.
The source insists on confidence in his estimate of the amount of ammunition transported by ships. "Two hundred containers on two ships are capable of transporting this amount of ammunition," the interlocutor said.
It was not possible to independently check what exactly the ships were transporting.
The new "aid" adds to previous accusations against Tehran that it provided Moscow with hundreds of deadly drones that played a critical role in attempts to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"Russia continues to use Iran as a rear base," said a source in the security services, describing the close military ties between the two countries.
Western and Ukrainian officials have also warned that Iran could supply the Russian Federation with much more lethal ballistic missiles, but there is no evidence of this yet.
