Russia sent missile experts to Iran amid conflict with Israel - Reuters

Several senior Russian missile specialists traveled to Iran over the past year as Tehran and Moscow expanded their defense cooperation, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a review of travel records and employment data.

Seven weapons experts flew from Moscow to Tehran on April 24 and September 17 last year, according to the report.

Their trips occurred amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, as both countries exchanged military strikes in the same months.

The report, citing a senior Iranian defense ministry official, said Russian missile experts had visited multiple Iranian missile production facilities last year, including two underground sites. Some of these visits took place in September, the official said, without specifying locations.

A Western defense official cited by Reuters said that Russian missile specialists visited an Iranian missile base west of the port of Amirabad on Iran’s Caspian Sea coast in September.

According to Reuters, all seven Russian experts have military backgrounds.

The report said that a review of Russian databases showed that two hold the rank of colonel, two are lieutenant-colonel, and others specialize in air-defense missile systems, artillery, rocketry, advanced weapons development, and missile testing.

Their employment records range from 2021 to 2024, but it is unclear whether they still hold these positions, Reuters said.

The report said Hooshyaran-e Vatan, a group of activist hackers opposed to the Iranian government, provided the flight booking information to Reuters. The hackers claimed the seven Russians traveled with VIP status.

Reuters said it corroborated this information with a Russian passenger manifest from September, obtained from a source with access to Russian state databases. However, Reuters said it was unable to verify the manifest for the April flight.

Reuters identified two of the Russians booked on the April flight as Denis Kalko, 48, and Vadim Malov, 46. Tax records showed that Kalko previously worked at the defense ministry’s Academy for Military Anti-Aircraft Defense, while Malov worked for a military unit that trains anti-aircraft missile forces, according to 2024 records.

It also identified three other Russians on the April flight: Andrei Gusev, 45, a lieutenant-colonel who works as deputy head of the faculty of General Purpose Rockets and Artillery Munitions at the defense ministry’s Penza Artillery Engineering Institute; Alexander Antonov, 43, who has worked at the Main Rocket and Artillery Directorate; and Marat Khusainov, 54, a colonel linked to the Kapustin Yar missile-testing range.

According to Reuters, Sergei Yurchenko, 46, was one of two passengers on the September flight. Mobile phone records showed he worked at the Rocket and Artillery Directorate. His passport number had the prefix “22,” which is not used for private citizens or diplomats, Reuters said, citing Russian government regulations.

Reuters identified the other passenger as Oleg Fedosov, 46, who, according to Russian records, is linked to the Directorate of Advanced Inter-Service Research and Special Projects, a defense ministry branch developing future weapons systems.

Fedosov had previously flown from Tehran to Moscow in October 2023, using his official state passport, Russian border crossing records showed.