A Russian delegation visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice last month to examine weapons-capable drones.

CNN reported this referencing the national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

“We have information that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs,” Sullivan said.

Iran first showcased Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones to the Russians at Kashan Airfield south of Tehran in June.

Both drones are capable of carrying precision-guided missiles.

Sullivan said that to the US’ knowledge, the June visit “was the first time a Russian delegation has visited this airfield for such a showcase.”

A Russian delegation made a similar visit again on July 5, the officials said.

The news comes as Biden is wrapping up his trip to the Middle East, where Iran was a key point of discussion among the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf countries.

A US official said that the growing partnership between Iran and the Russian Federation exemplifies why the US needs to maintain its presence and influence in the Middle East.

White House officials revealed earlier this week that newly declassified US intelligence indicates that Iran is expected to supply Russia with ‘hundreds’ of drones for use in the war in Ukraine, with Iran preparing to begin training Russian forces on how to operate them in the near future.

The Russian Federation, the US now believes, has apparently turned to Iran to help replenish its drone stockpiles. It is unclear how sophisticated or effective those drones might be.

On Friday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran Hossein Amir Abdollahian rejected the “baseless accusations” of the US representatives during a telephone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba organized by the Iranian Embassy in Ukraine.

Previously, Nasser Kanaani, Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, responded to the accusations regarding the supply of Iranian drones to Russia.

Shahed UAV

Shahed-129 has a flight time of about 24 hours. It can be armed with 4-8 bombs/missiles.

The range of supported bombs/missiles includes Sadid-345 precision-guided glide bomb. It was also reported that it has a rather powerful sensor system.

Shahed-191 is based on the converted RQ-170 Sentinel UAV captured by Iran in 2011.

It is reported to have a capability to remain autonomous for about 4.5 hours. It has a flight range of 450 km and it can fit two Sadid-342 bombs in the internal weapons bays.