Russia is receiving munitions and military hardware sourced from Iraq for its war effort in Ukraine with the help of Iranian IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) weapons terrorist smuggling networks, according to members of Iranian-backed Iraqi militias and regional intelligence services with knowledge of the process.
RPGs and anti-tank missiles, as well as Brazilian-designed rocket launcher systems, have been dispatched to Russia from Iraq as Moscow’s campaign has faltered in the last month.
Using the weapons-trafficking underworld would signal a dramatic shift in Russian strategy, as Moscow is forced to lean on Iran, its military ally in Syria, following new sanctions triggered by the invasion of Ukraine.
RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) and anti-tank missiles in the possession of Hashd al-Shaabi, the most powerful Iranian IRGC backed Shia militia umbrella, were transported to Iran through the Salamja border crossing on 26 March, where they were received by the Iranian military and taken on to Russia by sea, said a commander of the militia branch that controls the crossing.
Three cargo ships capable of carrying such loads – two Russian flagged and one Iranian flagged – crossed the Caspian Sea from Iran’s port of Bandar Anzali to Astrakhan, a Russian city on the Volga delta, within the timeframes outlined.
The Iranian IRGC Iraqi militia also dismantled and sent in pieces two Brazilian-designed Astros II rocket launcher systems, known in Iraq as the license-built version Sajil-60, to Iran on 1 April, according to a source within the organization.
“What the Russians need in Ukraine right now is missiles. These require skill to transport as they’re fragile and explosive, but if you are committed to doing it, it’s possible,” said Yörük Işık, an Istanbul-based maritime affairs expert. “It’s also not the kind of activity that would be picked up by satellite imagery as they can be transported in large boxes and regular shipping containers.”
Mohaned Hage Ali, a fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, said: “That kind of sophisticated weaponry [rocket launcher systems] would make a big difference on the ground in Ukraine. Ḥashd al-Shaabi controls much of the border region with Iran, which would make this transaction easier.
“Other countries such as China are having to be very careful about giving weapons to Russia now, given the new sanctions situation. And Iran, as part of that axis, wants to make sure Russia doesn’t lose ground in this conflict.
“If the Putin regime is destabilized that has huge implications for Iran, particularly in Syria, where Damascus is dependent on Russian air support and Russia coordinates to avoid direct conflict between them and Israel.”