Iran has increased the sale of drone technology to countries in the Middle East, as it seeks to become a player in the international market. The move brings money and political influence to a country that itself is isolated and struggling under the financial restrictions of the US
Iran has made great strides in the design and production of military drones in recent years, increasing their transfer to various terrorist groups across the Middle East as it seeks to shift the dynamics of the battlefields from Yemen to Gaza. These efforts have now expanded far beyond the region, The New York Times reported. .
Iran is now seeking to build its global power and sell increasingly sophisticated weapons-capable drones commercially to other countries, including those that have been subject to various sanctions in recent years, such as Venezuela and Sudan, according to Iranian media, satellite images and experts inside and outside Iran. The move brings money and political influence to Iran, which itself is isolated and struggling under US financial restrictions.
Now, Russia may be a potential customer. Washington announced this month that it has intelligence that Moscow plans to purchase hundreds of drones from Iran to bolster its arsenal for the war in Ukraine. American officials have called on Iran not to sell drones to Russia and warned of the consequences for both countries.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its military cooperation with Russia preceded the war, without providing details, and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdolhian said in an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica this month that the country has no plans to supply military equipment to both sides of the conflict.
Last week, the commander of Iran’s army, General Qumars Heydari, said in a speech that the country is “ready to export weapons and military equipment to friendly countries”, adding that Iranian drones are already “operated far and beyond our borders”, according to Iranian media. General Heydari did not mention the Russia in his speech, but his words came on the same day that President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran and met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who expressed support for the war in Ukraine.
Tehran began developing drones in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war. Despite the crippling sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear and missile programs in recent years, it has managed to produce and deploy a vast array of military drones, used for both surveillance and attack, according to According to the analysis of experts.
Iranian drones still remain largely on the fringes of the world market, and are mostly purchased by low-income or sanctioned countries that are unable to buy them elsewhere, Iran also faces stiff competition from powers such as Turkey, whose drones are bought by countries such as Azerbaijan Ann, Pakistan and Ethiopia, and Ukraine adopted it in its war with Russia.
The Iranian news agency ‘Tasnim’, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, said that Iran is “deepening its strategic influence in the East” by exporting drones. The official government newspaper, ‘Iran’, wrote that “the successful experience of Iran’s weapons in the Middle East and Ethiopia It resulted in Iran becoming a major arms exporter in the region and the world.”