Surge in Iranian IRGC flights to Russia amid drone deal

An examination of open-source flight data reveals a significant increase in Iranian IRGC linked cargo flights to Russia since the start of the Ukrainian conflict.

Compared to just three in 2021, at least 42 planes operated by Iranian airlines connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have arrived in Moscow since April.

According to Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser for the United States, the Iranian IRGC is getting ready to give Russia military drones to use in its invasion of Ukraine. In addition to revealing satellite images of two visits by a Russian team to Iran, during which they were shown armed drones, Sullivan said that Russia had asked Iran to furnish it with hundreds of drones.

The Russians have reportedly begun drone use training in Iran, according to a U.S. official who spoke to Haaretz this week.

Last week, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Iran had already given Russia 46 drones and that the Russian army had started deploying them in combat.

Three cargo aircraft, including two 747 jumbo jets operated by the carriers Qeshm Fars Air and Iran Air Cargo and a Pouya Air Ilyushin-76, have recently flown the Tehran-Moscow route, according to an investigation by the Dutch aviation tracker Gerjon.

Since it sent men and weapons to Syria on behalf of the Iranian IRGC Quds Force during the civil conflict there, the latter is subject to American sanctions. Due to its connections to the Quds Force and for sending fighters, weapons, and other goods to Syria, Qeshm Fars Air is also subject to U.S. sanctions. The specific aircraft that is now traveling to Moscow used to often travel between Tehran and Damascus. Since the start of the Ukraine crisis, the three aircraft have flown at least 42 times from Tehran to Moscow as opposed to three in 2021.

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