The authenticity of the document was confirmed by an unnamed European official. According to NBC, the USA and Israel cannot intercept all cargoes that are traveling between Russian and Iranian ports, as the shipments are carried out via the Caspian Sea. It does not reach the ocean and is controlled by Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. According to the government of one European country, the shipments continued after Israeli attacks on the Bandar Anzali port complex on the northern coast of Iran, which may have been involved in the transit of weapons between Moscow and Tehran. As NBC concludes, these supplies indicate a deepening strategic alliance between the Kremlin and the authorities of the Islamic Republic. **Financial Times: Russia has helped Iran strike positions of the USA in the Middle East** The channel also notes that in the early years of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Iran provided assistance to Russia: Tehran transferred Shahed-type strike drones to Moscow, as well as the technology for their production. Russia was able to modernize Iranian developments and launch its own production of such UAVs for strikes on Ukraine. In March 2026, the Financial Times reported, citing sources in Western intelligence, that Russia began supplying drones to Iran and also provided the authorities of the Islamic Republic with satellite imagery, intelligence data, and information for strikes on US positions in the Middle East, according to "Deutsche Welle."
