Why is Israeli occupation so worried about Russia-Iran cooperation?
5 Min Read
Israeli media reveals in a new report that Russia will be manufacturing Iranian UAVs on Russian soil after a cooperation agreement with Tehran.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, September 15, 2022 (Anadolu Agency)
The military intelligence directorates in the Israeli occupation are currently highly concerned over the Russian-Iranian military and security cooperation, Israeli media reported on Sunday.
Reports made by intelligence agencies, Israeli media said, are talking about a bilateral agreement to manufacture hundreds of military UAVs in Moscow and the export of advanced air defense systems from Russia to Iran.
"What is concerning Israel is not only the capability to mass manufacture the drones, through the repercussions of such a step could be tough for Israel," Israeli Channel 13 foreign affairs commentator Nadav Eyal said.
"What is also a point of concern is that the transport of advanced Russian air defense systems [to Iran] would make it a lot more difficult for the Israeli air force to target sites on Iranian soil," he added.
Iran has been facing accusations of having supplied weapons to Russia without any sustainable evidence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went as far as claiming that Russia was deploying almost 2,500 attack drones purchased from Iran, namely the Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs.
Ukraine's accusations spiraled into the West adopting these claims, and now the United States is using the allegations as a card against Iran.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said admitted that Tehran gave a small batch of drones to Russia, but it was before the Ukraine war broke out.
Meanwhile, former Israeli foreign ministry official Yaki Dayan told the channel during an interview that the coalition between Russia and Iran that is forming "is bad for us on all levels, and most importantly on the level of fighter jets that Russia is supposed to supply to Iran."
"There is no doubt that Russia supplying Iran with S-400 air defense systems will be an issue for Israel," Dayan said. "We must mention that there is another level, which is Iran's growing nuclear capabilities and the lack of a deal with it."
Moscow, Tehran reached secret agreement
Russia struck a covert agreement with Iran that will see the former manufacturing hundreds of Iranian UAVs on Russian soil, Israel 24 News reported.
There is new intelligence from the United States and other Western states that touched on this "secret deal", the Israeli newspaper reported, further citing a Washington Post report from last month that said, "Moscow and Tehran had agreed in secret to begin manufacture of Iranian-designed drones on Russian soil."
Russian and Iranian officials added the final touches to the agreement during a meeting with Iran in early November, and the two countries are taking quick steps to transport the blueprints and main parts that might allow for production to kick off within months, the report said.
The agreement, sources said, if implemented in full, will present a further step in Iranian-Russian cooperation, which "has already supported Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine."
A Russian delegation headed by the secretary of the Russian Security Council had visited Tehran on November 9, and a statement regarding the visit said it was to discuss the sanctions and other western means of intervention in their countries' internal affairs, Russian and Iranian media reported.
"The secret agreement is an aggressive attempt by both countries to facilitate the production of Iranian-designed UAVs on Russian soil," an official familiar with the matter said, noting that they were making strides when it comes to the matter.
Additionally, Russia, according to the Ukrainian armed forces, has purchased the Iranian Arash-2 drones, a more powerful model than the Shahed-136 drones being seen in Kiev's skies.
Tehran's latest statements once again struck down the allegations as false, proving that the Iranian drones seen in Ukraine's airspace were not provided to Moscow as the war was ongoing.
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said earlier in November that it was necessary to conduct strikes on Iran due to Tehran allegedly supplying drones to Russia.
The fear the drones are inflicting on the Ukrainians has pushed Kiev to further seek air defense systems from its Western allies.
The usage of drones has prompted Ukraine's allies to come together in various ways to try and help Kiev, with Turkey and the United States sending in drones and the Israeli occupation providing Kiev with intelligence on the Iranian drones being used in Ukraine.
Iran and Ukraine were supposed to sit down and discuss the issue, but Kiev bailed out on the talks at the last second.
The Israeli occupation, meanwhile, spent millions of dollars to appease its western partners by procuring undisclosed strategic materials for Ukraine after "Tel Aviv" faced pressure to send the arms to Kiev via a third country, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Reportedly, the United States is the party that pressured the occupation, which had to go against its proclaimed stance to only send humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
Israeli occupation media reported in mid-September that an Israeli arms manufacturer was supplying anti-UAV systems to Ukraine via Poland, with the sales conducted through Warsaw to circumvent "Tel Aviv's" refusal to sell advanced arms to Ukraine.
Reportedly, the Biden administration demanded the occupation to switch from strictly providing humanitarian supplies and expanding its assistance to Ukraine and giving military equipment, prompting "Tel Aviv" to fund the purchase of strategic materials for Ukraine, including air defense systems, Haaretz reported.
