Reuters alleged in a report citing reviews of travel records and employment data, the Islamic Republic has visited luxury Russian missile specialists over the past year as it deepened its defense cooperation with Moscow.
Seven weapons experts were booked to travel from Moscow to Tehran on April 24th and September 17th last year. According to a document detailing the two group bookings and the passenger manifesto for the second flight.
The reservation record includes a men’s passport number, with six of the seven having a prefix of “20”. The dict ordinance issued by the Russian government and documents on the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website show the passports used for overseas work trips and official state operations issued to military personnel.
Reuters could not determine what the seven people were doing in Iran.
Reuters allegedly said a senior official for the Iranian defense secretary had visited several Iranian missile production sites last year, including two underground facilities, and that some of the visits took place in September. Officials who requested anonymity to discuss security issues did not identify the site.
The seven Russians identified by Reuters all have senior military backgrounds, with two ranked colonels and two colones.
Two are experts in aviation defense missile systems, three specializing in artillery and rock, while one has a background in advanced weapons development and the other works in missile testing range, records show. Reuters couldn’t establish whether everything is still functioning in those roles as employment data ranges from 2021 to 2024.
Reuters contacted all the men by phone. Five denied going to Iran, denying working in the military or both, one declined to comment, and one hung up the phone.
Iran’s Defense and Foreign Ministry, like the Islamic Revolutionary Security Service’s Public Relations Bureau, declined to comment on this article.
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