7 March 2023

Iran Doubles Down on Arms for Russia

Robbie Gramer

Iran is doubling down on military support for Russia in a series of new military deals that could prolong the war in Ukraine and offer sanction-battered Tehran new economic and defense lifelines, according to five U.S. and NATO officials familiar with the matter.

In public, top U.S. and allied leaders have castigated Iran for supplying Russia with drones and vowed to use everything in their power to block those shipments. But behind closed doors, officials concede that there are no realistic avenues to stem the flow of Iranian military goods into Russia for it to deploy to Ukraine.

“There’s unfortunately a limit to what we can do to stop this unholy alliance with sanctions alone,” said one senior Eastern European official who tracks the matter.

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