The British media Sky News has published of an alleged contract of arms sales that could be the first hard evidence of Iran’s support for Russia in its war against Ukraine.
The document, allegedly a contract dated 14 September 2022, details orders for diverse artillery and tank shells and rockets totaling slightly over $1 million.
“This is a contract between the Iranians and the Russians regarding munitions… We believe it is 100% authentic,” said the anonymous source to Sky News. Despite these claims, independent verification of the documents’ authenticity has yet to be achieved.
The purported contract suggests transactions of weaponry samples and potential larger shipments. In light of this development, UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, and Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, pledged to investigate the credibility of the materials.
Mr. Cleverly stated, “When information is presented to us, we will look to assess it and to validate it. And of course, we will make decisions based on that.” He reiterated that the UK had previously sanctioned Tehran after it supplied attack drones to Russia, which have targeted Ukrainian cities.
Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, expressed that actions will be taken upon proper verification of the evidence. “As soon as we verify it properly, we will be able to act upon this,” he affirmed.
The discovery of this alleged contract emerges amidst a critical time when both Russia and Ukraine are depleting their ammunition stockpiles. Western allies are striving to continue arming Kyiv, while Moscow has switched its defense industry to war footing.
Experts, after examining the contract, stated the document’s contents seemed plausible, with the date coinciding with previous reports of such transactions occurring. They also said that typos in the documents are plausible and therefore do not detract from the contract’s possible authenticity.
The agreement allegedly between the Ministry of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces of Iran and Russia’s state military exporting and importing company, JSC Rosoboronexport, featured explicit details like payment for the ammunition samples and the method of transport for the samples from Iran to Russia.
The agreement also laid out specific clauses for events of “force majeure” and the protection of Iran’s intellectual property rights over its weapons. Another section outlined that disputes arising from the contract would be settled under the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration Institution of the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution in Zurich.
The contract ended with a space for the signatures of both parties. Sky News was also provided a supplementary section containing several signatures. Despite these details, the authenticity of the contract remains to be confirmed.
Photos: Sky News
