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Report: Moscow, Tehran Advance Plans for Drone Facility

Report: Moscow, Tehran Advance Plans for Drone Facility
Last updated Feb 06, 2023
Image credit: I24news

Facts

  • The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Moscow and Tehran are cooperating on plans to construct a factory in Russia to make at least 6K Iranian-designed drones to be used in the Ukraine war.[1]
  • According to officials reportedly from a country aligned with the US, a high-level Iranian delegation flew to Russia in early January to visit the planned site for the factory and decide on details to start the project.[2]
  • This drone factory is allegedly part of a $1B deal between both countries, which the White House claims to be developing a "full-fledged defense partnership" that includes also fighter jet training.[1]
  • The Washington Post had reported in November that such plans were in the works, stating that Iran and Russia had finalized a deal that month after Russian officials visited Tehran.[3]
  • On Friday, the US Dept. of the Treasury announced new sanctions on eight senior officials of an Iranian drone manufacturer for their role in Tehran's supply of drones to Russia.[4]
  • Though Tehran acknowledged in November that it had provided drones to the Kremlin, its foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, stressed that shipments of a limited number of weapons were made before the Ukraine war.[5]

Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Iran is no longer seen by the West as a problem to be solved, but instead as an outright enemy that is helping to prolong the conflict in Ukraine. Tehran is on a direct collision course with the US and the West and has made a fatal mistake in choosing to side with Russia and Putin.

Establishment-critical narrative

Western propaganda is spreading lies to try to justify the prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine. Despite having long-established defense cooperation with Moscow, Tehran is not taking part in any joint project to produce drones in Russia.

Nerd narrative

There is a 14% chance that Russia will test nuclear weapons in 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.

Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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