Iran has reportedly received hundreds of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles from Russia and China in recent weeks, the US-funded Arabic-language outlet Alhurra reported, citing sources in the Kurdish and Arab opposition in Iran's Ahvaz Province.
According to the report, the shipment included approximately 300 advanced 9K333 Verba man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), which were transported across the Caspian Sea in five small shipping containers. After arriving in Iran, the missiles were reportedly distributed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to military bases and other sensitive sites across the country.
The sources claimed the missiles were deployed in the Tehran area, Kermanshah, Isfahan, near the Iraqi Kurdistan border, and along the Strait of Hormuz - locations considered strategically important by the Iranian regime.
The report claimed that in addition to the deployment of Russian- and Chinese-made air defense systems near Iran's borders, additional shoulder-fired missiles have were transferred over the past two weeks to Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq.
Reports of the deal first surfaced in April, but at the time, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington denied the allegations, stating that China has not supplied weapons to either side in the conflict. The spokesperson dismissed the report as inaccurate and urged the United States to refrain from what it described as unfounded accusations, calling instead for efforts to reduce tensions.
At the same time, separate reports indicated that Russia has been supplying Iran with advanced drones.