A Western intelligence source claimed that the expansion and the complete Russian integration of Iran's Shahed-136 attack drones used in the war on Ukraine and the completion of a massive factory that produces them in Russia, caused a rift between Tehran and Moscow, according to CNN in a report broadcast late on Friday.
The Iranians have become impatient with the little return they have received from Russia after supporting their war effort with missiles and other assets too.
According to the report, the factory at Alabuga, 950 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow in Russia’s Tatarstan region, has been pumping out increasing numbers of drones. Analysts and intelligence officials believe 90% of production stages now happen there or in other Russian facilities.
Factory CEO Timur Shagivaleev said the components for the drone were produced locally. “Aluminum bars come in, engines are made from them; microelectronics are made from electric chips; fuselages are made from carbon fiber and fiberglass – this is a complete location,” he said in a documentary.
Analysts told CNN the expansion of the plant, seen in recent satellite images, would eventually allow Russia to "export an updated and battle-tested version of the drone it originally imported from Iran – maybe even to Tehran itself."
Russian strikes on Ukraine
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This then marginalizes Iran, revealing the tension between the capitals, which boiled over during the 12-day war waged with Israel in June, when the Iranian nuclear weapons program was targeted. Moscow's statements of condemnation of Israel at that time were seen as too little, after Iran stepped up to support Russia in its war.
“Iran may have expected Russia to do more or take more steps without being required to do so,” Ali Akbar Dareini, an analyst for the Tehran-based Center for Strategic Studies, the research arm of the Iranian President’s office, told CNN.
But the Western analysts who spoke to CNN were not surprised. “This explicit disengagement demonstrates that Russia never intervenes beyond its immediate interests, even when a partner – here an essential supplier of drones – is attacked,” they said.
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Much of Iran's drone production capabilities were also targeted during the war and Russia may be in the position of supplying Iran with drones produced at Alabuga. Some of the Iranian suppliers claimed that they have not yet been paid by Russia in full for the weapons they provided.
Dareini was also not surprised by Russia's response to the Israel campaign and said there is “both cooperation and competition” between Russia and Iran. “It’s obvious that Russians want more, to get more and give less, and this is this applies to Iran as well,” he said. “Iran has provided Russia with drones and technology and the factory, and it has not been for free.”