A number of senior Russian missile consultants have visited Iran during the last 12 months because the Islamic Republic has deepened its protection cooperation with Moscow, a Reuters assessment of commute data and employment information signifies.The seven guns mavens have been booked to commute from Moscow to Tehran aboard two flights on April 24 and September 17 remaining 12 months, consistent with paperwork detailing the 2 crew bookings in addition to the passenger manifest for the second one flight.The reserving data come with the boys’s passport numbers, with six of the seven having the prefix “20.” That denotes a passport used for legit state trade, issued to executive officers on overseas business trips and armed forces workforce stationed in another country, consistent with an edict revealed by means of the Russian executive and a record at the Russian overseas ministry’s web page. Reuters was once not able to resolve what the seven have been doing in Iran.A senior Iranian protection ministry legit mentioned Russian missile mavens had made a couple of visits to Iranian missile manufacturing websites remaining 12 months, together with two underground amenities, with probably the most visits happening in September. The legit, who asked anonymity to talk about safety issues, did not establish the websites. Iranians burn a symbolic Obelisk with British flag and Big name of David in Tehran, February 10, 2025 (credit score: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)A Western protection legit, who displays Iran’s protection cooperation with Russia and likewise asked anonymity, mentioned an unspecified selection of Russian missile mavens visited an Iranian missile base, about 15 km (9 miles) west of the port of Amirabad on Iran’s Caspian Beach, in September.Reuters could not determine if the guests referred to by means of the officers incorporated the Russians at the two flights. The seven Russians known by means of Reuters all have senior army backgrounds, with two ranked colonel and two lieutenant-colonel, consistent with a assessment of Russian databases containing details about voters’ jobs or puts of labor, together with tax, telephone and car data.Two are mavens in air-defense missile methods, 3 concentrate on artillery and rocketry, whilst one has a background in complex guns building and some other has labored at a missile-testing vary, the data confirmed. Reuters was once not able to determine whether or not all are nonetheless operating in the ones roles because the employment information ranged from 2021 to 2024.Their flights to Tehran got here at a precarious time for Iran, which discovered itself drawn right into a tit-for-tat fight with arch-foe Israel that noticed all sides mount army moves on each and every different in April and October. Keep up to date with the newest information! Subscribe to The Jerusalem Publish Publication Reuters contacted the entire males by means of telephone: 5 of them denied that they had been to Iran, denied they labored for the army or each, whilst one declined to remark and one hung up.Iran’s protection and overseas ministries declined to remark for this text, as did the general public family members place of job of the Islamic Innovative Guard Corps, an elite power that oversees Iran’s ballistic missile program. The Russian protection ministry did not reply to a request for remark.Cooperation between the 2 nations, whose leaders signed a 20-year army pact in Moscow in January, has already influenced Russia’s warfare on Ukraine, with massive numbers of Iranian-designed Shahed drones deployed at the battlefield. Rockets and artillery The flight reserving data for the seven vacationers was once proven to Reuters by means of Hooshyaran-e Vatan, a bunch of activist hackers adverse to the Iranian executive. The hackers mentioned the seven have been touring with VIP standing.Reuters corroborated the ideas with the Russian passenger manifest for the September flight, which was once equipped by means of a supply with get admission to to Russian state databases. The inside track company was once not able to get admission to a manifest for the sooner flight, so could not check that the 5 Russian consultants booked on it if truth be told made the go back and forth.Denis Kalko, 48, and 46-year-old Vadim Malov have been a number of the 5 Russian guns mavens whose seats have been booked as a bunch at the April flight, the data confirmed.Kalko labored on the protection ministry’s Academy for Army Anti-Airplane Defence, tax data for 2021 display. Malov labored for an army unit that trains anti-aircraft missile forces, consistent with automotive possession data for 2024.Andrei Gusev, 45, Alexander Antonov, 43, and Marat Khusainov, 54, have been additionally booked at the April flight. Gusev is a lieutenant-colonel who works as deputy head of the school of Normal Objective Rockets and Artillery Munitions on the protection ministry’s Penza Artillery Engineering Institute, consistent with a 2021 information merchandise at the institute’s web page. Antonov has labored on the Primary Rocket and Artillery Directorate of the Defence Ministry, consistent with automotive registration data from 2024, whilst financial institution information displays Khusainov, a colonel, has labored on the Kapustin Yar missile-testing vary.Some of the two passengers onboard the second one flight to Tehran in September was once Sergei Yurchenko, 46, who has additionally labored on the Rocket and Artillery Directorate, consistent with undated cell phone data. His passport quantity had the prefix “22”; Reuters was once not able to resolve what that signified despite the fact that, consistent with the federal government edict on passports, it is not used for personal voters or diplomats.The opposite passenger at the September flight was once 46-year-old Oleg Fedosov. Place of abode data give his deal with because the place of job of the Directorate of Complex Inter-Provider Analysis and Particular Tasks. That may be a department of the protection ministry tasked with creating guns methods of the long run.Fedosov had prior to now flown from Tehran to Moscow in October 2023, consistent with Russian border crossing data considered by means of Reuters. On that instance, as he did for the September 2024 flight, Fedosov used his passport reserved for legit state trade, the data confirmed.
