Report: Russian experts visited Iran ahead of ballistic missile attacks on Israel

Senior Russian missile experts visited Iran twice last year, according to analysis of travel records.

By World Israel News Staff

Russia has deepened its ties to Iran’s production of missiles, according to a report by Reuters.

Based on an analysis of travel records, the report found that two delegations of senior Russian missile specialists traveled to Iran over the past year.

Documents cited by the report show that seven Russian weapons experts traveled from Moscow to Tehran on two separate occasions, April 24 and September 17, 2024.

Passenger manifests and booking records indicate that six of the seven carried official state business passports, a designation used by government officials and military personnel abroad.

The exact purpose of these visits remains unclear.

However, both trips took place just weeks before major Iranian attacks on Israel, on April 14 and October 1. Following the Iranian offensives, Israeli counterstrikes targeted Iranian air defenses, some of which were supplied by Russia.

A senior Iranian defense ministry official stated that Russian missile specialists had made multiple visits to Iranian missile production sites, including underground facilities, last year. Some of these visits reportedly occurred in September, though the specific locations remain undisclosed.

A Western defense official monitoring Iran-Russia defense relations confirmed to Reuters that an unspecified number of Russian missile experts visited an Iranian missile base near the port of Amirabad on the Caspian Sea coast in September.

The seven Russian specialists identified in the records have extensive military backgrounds, with two holding the rank of colonel and two ranked as lieutenant colonels. Their expertise spans air-defense missile systems, artillery, rocketry, advanced weapons development, and missile testing. However, employment records reviewed by Reuters range from 2021 to 2024, leaving uncertainty about their current roles.

When contacted by phone, five of the identified individuals denied traveling to Iran or working for the military, while another declined to comment and one disconnected the call.

The revelations underscore growing military collaboration between Russia and Iran, particularly in missile technology, at a time of heightened regional tensions and evolving geopolitical alliances.