“There’s an axis of aggression between Russia and Iran,” British defense chief John Healey declared on Thursday, accusing Moscow of “sharing tactics, training, and tech” to help Tehran fight the United States and Israel. His statement came amid reports that Russia is sending drones to Iran—presumably Russian-made versions of the same Shahed-136 one-way attack unmanned aerial systems (OWA UAS) that...
The strongest version of this narrative presents a coherent geopolitical strategy: Russia is leveraging its military-industrial partnership with Iran to prolong regional instability, weaken U.S. influence, and divert Western resources away from Ukraine. The evidence—intelligence assessments, production estimates, and historical drone transfers—supports the claim that this is a calculated, reciprocal relationship. Russia’s upgrades to the Shahed-136, including electronic warfare resistance and an...