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US believes Russia is in possession of Iranian drones

The US assesses that Russia is now in possession of weapons-capable Iranian drones that are likely to be deployed to the battlefield in Ukraine, Biden administration officials told CNN . The Russians picked up the drones from an Iranian airfield earlier this month and transported them back to Russia on cargo planes in mid-August, officials said.

Russian officials began training the drones in Iran late last month, the report said. CNN previously, and the US now believes that Russia has officially purchased and transferred the Mohajer-6 and Shahed series drones – the Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 – back to Russia, likely for use in the war in Ukraine.

Both types of UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are capable of carrying precision-guided munitions and can be used for surveillance. Russian operators are still training the drones inside Iran, officials said, and the US believes Russia intends to import hundreds of them for use in air-to-ground attacks, electronic warfare and targets inside Ukraine.

The Washington Post first reported that the drones were transferred to Russia.

The introduction of Iranian drones, which can also be used for surveillance, could have a significant impact on the battlefield as Russia looks to mitigate the impact of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). ) that the US and its allies provided to Ukraine.

The HIMARS have a range of approximately 80 km and allowed Ukraine to attack targets behind the Russian front lines.

U.S. intelligence officials believe, however, that when tested, many of the drones Russia has purchased from Iran have already suffered numerous failures, officials said, so it is unclear how much they will change the game for the Russians when deployed.

The Biden administration began warning in July that Russia was looking to buy the drones amid acute supply shortages stemming from the war in Ukraine and Western sanctions that have impeded further production efforts. Satellite images revealed that month showed that a Russian delegation had visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice since June to examine weapon-capable drones.

News of the drone transfers comes as the Biden administration expressed cautious optimism about a possible deal to revive the Iran nuclear deal. Detractors of the deal say a new deal will result in sanctions relief for Iran and, in turn, a windfall financial gain that could enable Iran’s malign activities across the region and beyond.

White House officials insisted, however, that the decision to re-enter the nuclear deal must be motivated solely by the need to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and must not be influenced by Iranian actions that fall outside the scope of its nuclear program.

Source: CNN Brasil

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