Iran reached a secret agreement worth 500 million euros with Russia to buy thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles from this country.
According to the agreement, Russia will send 500 Verba shoulder-fired launchers and 2,500 9M336 missiles to Iran within 3 years.
This procurement deal is considered Iran's most ambitious move to date to restore the air defense system heavily damaged in the conflict with Israel last year.
Put into service in Russia since 2014, Verba is the 4th generation portable infrared-guided air defense missile system. This missile system is operated by small, mobile teams and is designed to destroy low-flying aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) when facing directly.
Experts believe that these Russian weapons could put the US at risk by repeating the tactics used in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by helicopter and low-flying aircraft.
The Financial Times quoted confidential Russian documents and many well-informed sources as saying that the agreement was signed in Moscow in December 2025.
Tehran first proposed this weapons system in July last year, just days after the US Air Force and Navy intervened in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, attacking 3 nuclear facilities of this country.
Rosoboronexport valued the 9M336 missile at about 170,000 euros each and the launch mechanism at 40,000 euros.
Iran will also receive 500 "Mowgli-2" night vision cameras to detect targets in the dark.
These shipments will be delivered in batches from 2027 to 2029, although a source said that some may have been sent to Iran earlier than expected.
This week, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali appeared to have confirmed that recent flights from Moscow were carrying military equipment.
For many years we have signed strong military and defense agreements with Russia. I can only say that these aircraft prove that those agreements are being implemented" - he shared with Iranian state television.
Information about the agreement appeared when President Donald Trump concentrated a huge military arsenal in Iran's attack range. Analysts call this the largest US military build-up in the Middle East since the Iraq war in 2003.
On February 20, US President Donald Trump said he was considering a limited attack on Iran to put pressure on Tehran to sign a nuclear deal.
A day earlier, he said that the world would know "in the next 10 days" whether the US would take military action or not.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran's air defense network has been seriously weakened after a series of clashes with Israel to "break protective layers" against attacks on nuclear infrastructure and military officials in June last year.
Those attacks destroyed almost the entire S-300 defense missile system supplied by Russia to Iran, which is the country's most advanced air defense capability.
Iran is also said to have purchased up to 6 Mi-28 attack helicopters from Russia in January 2026. Tehran is also seeking to purchase 2 squadrons of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets.
