Iran is preparing to transfer a batch of ballistic missiles to Russia. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the publication Bloomberg.
Deliveries could begin in a few days, according to European officials. The media outlet writes that the sources believe that “the potential transfer of ballistic missiles would be a worrying development in the conflict”.
The sources declined to give a volume or timeline for the transfers, but one official said that the deliveries could begin within days.
The Group of Seven is now discussing tougher sanctions against Iran, but acknowledges that they may not have the desired effect.
Bloomberg has also published a map showing the strike zone of Iranian missiles if they are deployed in Belgorod (Russia) or the occupied Crimea. This will mean that there will be ballistic missile alerts all over Ukraine and almost every day.
What kind of missiles from Iran are we talking about?
Iran may transfer Dezful missiles to Russia. These are ground-launched surface-to-surface ballistic missiles with a declared range of 1,000 km. This missile can dive to its targets at Mach 7 (8,643 km/h).
Technical characteristics of Dezful
- type – intermediate-range ballistic missile;
- in service since 2019;
- weight – 1,500 kg;
- length – 10.5 m
- diameter – 0.68 m;
- warhead weight – 0.68 g;
- solid rocket engine.
The Dezful is an upgrade of the older Iranian Zolfaghar missile, with a range of 700 km and a warhead weight of up to 580 kg. According to some reports, such missiles can also have a cluster warhead. The Zolfaghar is a single-stage solid-fuel ballistic missile with dimensions of 10.3 by 0.6 metres.