Drone attack on the city of Kramatorsk (archive image): Russia is already using kamikaze drones in the war against Ukraine, and now Moscow wants to export the weapons to Iran.Image: www.imago-images.de
Russia is said to have offered Iran thousands of drones that were difficult to jam. Experts warn of a new danger for US troops.
May 9, 2026, 4:18 p.mMay 9, 2026, 4:43 p.m
Tobias Schibilla / t-online
Russia is said to have offered Iran extensive military aid for the war against the USA and its allies. According to a report by The Economist, it’s about Thousands of modern combat drones and the training of Iranian forces in dealing with the systems. The information is said to come from a confidential document from the Russian military intelligence service GRU. The report cannot be independently confirmed.
As the Economist writes, the proposal includes the delivery of 5,000 short-range fiber optic drones and an unknown number of satellite-controlled drones with Starlink terminals. Russia also offered to train Iranian personnel to use both systems.
Russia is testing the technology it offers in Ukraine
Fiber optic drones in particular are considered difficult to disrupt. Unlike many conventional drones, they do not communicate via radio, but rather via a thin fiber optic cable that is unwound during the flight. This makes them significantly less susceptible to electronic interference. Russia is already using drones in the war against Ukraine.
The Economist writes that the document is a ten-page proposal from the Russian military intelligence service GRU. The document contains several technical drawings and maps of islands off the Iranian coast. According to the magazine’s assessment, the plan emerged in the first weeks of the war between the United States and Iran. At that time, there was apparently concern in Moscow that the United States might send ground troops or attack important Iranian energy facilities.
A Shahed drone in the police museum in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.Image: www.imago-images.de
However, it remains unclear whether the proposal was actually transmitted to the Iranian leadership. There is also no evidence yet that Russia has already delivered drones to Iran. Russia expert Christo Grozev told the Economist that the document fits in with other indications of closer military cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. According to his assessment, Russia is increasingly looking for ways to support Iran in the conflict with the USA and Israel.
Fiber optic drones are difficult to disrupt
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also sees in the report indications of a possible expansion of Russian military aid to Iran. The think tank warns in particular against the further spread of so-called fiber optic drones within the Iranian influence network in the Middle East.
According to the ISW, militias in Iraq allied with Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah have already used such systems. In April 2026, pro-Iranian Iraqi groups are said to have carried out attacks on Kuwaiti border posts using fiber optic drones. Hezbollah, in turn, has attacked Israeli positions in northern Israel and southern Lebanon several times since March with drones.
The ISW analysts assume that Russia may have originally passed the technology on to Iran. From there it may have been spread to allied groups in the so-called “resistance network”.
Cooperation between Russia and Iran has been going on for years
If Russia actually delivers larger quantities of these drones, Western observers believe this could significantly strengthen the military capabilities of Iranian allies. The threat of drone attacks that are difficult to intercept would continue to increase, particularly for US armed forces and their partners in the Middle East.
The presumed delivery plans would also growing military cooperation between Russia and Iran underline. Both countries have significantly expanded their cooperation in recent years. Tehran has been supplying so-called kamikaze drones to Russia for years, and the Russian-based “Geran” drones are also based on the Iranian “Shahed” model.