Iran's war with Israel could diminish Russia's supply of missiles
Iran's war against Israel could curtail Russia's supply of ballistic missiles from the Islamic republic.
Western officials believe Tehran is likely to want to stockpile its own supplies rather than donating them overseas, as previously promised to Moscow.
A senior Nato official said: 'The recent hostilities that we've seen between Israel and Iran certainly will negatively impact Iran's future donations, specifically missiles.'
Russia would have to domestically produce its own missiles or lean on North Korea for supplies, they added.
The source said they could also see the Islamic republic's support for Russia's own production of Iranian-designed attack drones diminish.
However, this was unlikely to be a problem for Moscow, which now manufactures Shahed-type one-way attack drones itself.
It was reported earlier in 2025 that Iran and Russia had reached an agreement for the Islamic regime to supply ballistic missiles for Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
The two rogue states have also signed a defence pact, promising to team up to develop their militaries.
The Nato official said Moscow would probably use Israel's destruction of Iran's air defence systems 'opportunistically' to sell versions of its S-400 surface-to-air missile batteries.
Russia's intelligence officers could also be dispatched to Tehran to study any data collected from Israel's F-35 missions over the country in recent days, it is understood.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Britain will need Trump's permission to use new nuclear bombs
Britain will need permission from Donald Trump to deploy any tactical nuclear weapons from its new fighter jets. The Government has agreed to purchase 12 F-35A fighter jets from the US, meaning British aircraft will carry nuclear warheads for the first time since the Cold War. The Telegraph, however, understands that there is no intention for the UK to develop its own sovereign nuclear bomb capability and they will therefore have to purchase the B61-12 thermo bombs that the planes carry from the US. Under Nato's nuclear sharing arrangements any of the US's B-61 weapons carried by Nato allies remain under US custody. For a nuclear mission to be conducted by a Nato country approval must be granted by the alliance's Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) with final sign off from both the US president and British Prime Minister. An RAF source asked why the UK could not have negotiated a deal which did not leave it so reliant on the US for permission to protect itself. 'This is good we are talking to Nato, but there is a question over whether the UK would like its own sovereign airborne capability,' he said. 'Can't they negotiate a new deal with the Americans which explores this?' It has not been decided where the B-61 weapons purchased from the US would be based once on British soil. The US is already planning to station nuclear weapons at its US air base, RAF Lakenheath, according to Pentagon documents. Another possibility would be to house them at the neighbouring British base RAF Marham. An RAF source added that from a UK perspective it made sense to store the weapons at a British base, as they will be British owned. The last UK warplanes capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons were Tornados, which deployed the British-made WE177 nuclear bomb. This was retired in 1998 after the Iron Curtain had fallen and it was widely felt that Russia was no longer a threat. Other sovereign bombs included the Blue Danube, the first UK-built nuclear deterrent, which was carried by V-bombers. In 1956 a Vickers Valiant became the first RAF aircraft to drop the British atomic bomb during a test at the Maralinga range in Australia. However, as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which strives for a world without nuclear weapons, the UK has not invested in its own tactical nuclear weapon arsenal since 1998. Trident, the continuous at-sea deterrent, is the only nuclear weapon system operated by the UK that has a day-to-day operation independent of the US. It consists of four Vanguard-class submarines which can carry up to 16 warheads each. France's nuclear deterrent, which is believed to contain an estimated 300 nuclear weapons, under its 'force de dissuasion' programme, with sea and air-based launch capabilities, is also currently independent from Nato. The US has long guaranteed Europe's safety with an arsenal of around 100 nuclear missiles, many of them stationed in a US military base in Germany.
Reuters
31 minutes ago
- Reuters
Israelis welcome return to normal life, but fears for Gaza hostages resurface
TEL AVIV/HAIFA, Israel, June 25 (Reuters) - Pop music blared from a Tel Aviv school on Wednesday as children arrived for their first day back after 12 days of air war with Iran kept them confined to safe rooms and bomb shelters with stressed parents. The sight of children carrying or wheeling their colourful backpacks into school was one of the most vivid signs of life returning to routine in Israel after days and nights of huddling indoors in fear of being hit by an Iranian missile. Avi Behagen looked euphoric after dropping off his 9-year-old twin boy and girl. "In one word? Thank you, God!" he said, raising his eyes and hands to the heavens. "It's good to bring the kids back to school, good for us the parents, and also good for the kids, because they don't admit it, but they do miss the school. And I have twins, so it's a double happiness." During the conflict with Iran, many families with safe rooms within their homes spent most of their time there, while those reliant on public shelters would run there every time there was an alert, disrupting nighttime sleep and daytime routines. Israel started attacking Iran on June 13, saying it aimed to destroy its arch-enemy's nuclear capabilities. Its strikes wiped out a senior echelon of Iran's military command and killed several nuclear scientists. Iranian authorities said 610 people were killed and nearly 5,000 injured in the country. Tehran's retaliatory missiles killed at least 28 people in Israel and damaged hundreds of buildings, until a ceasefire came into effect on Tuesday. At a Tel Aviv beach, people were swimming, relaxing and playing beach volleyball, but despite the peaceful scene some expressed mixed emotions -- relief, hopes of lasting peace with Iran, but also anxiety and pain over the ongoing Gaza war and the Israeli hostages still held in the enclave. "I think we kind of focused this past two weeks on the war (with Iran), but we haven't focused on Gaza at all," said Rony Hoter-Ishay Meyer, 38, sitting on the beach promenade. "So now we're very much concerned about the hostages. Even today, there were seven soldiers killed in Gaza, so I think our heart is still there, exhausted, but still there." During the war with Iran, deadly violence has continued in Gaza with no respite. Israeli forces killed at least 40 Palestinians in Gaza and ordered new evacuations on Tuesday, local medics and residents said. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites since late May as they sought food, the Gaza health ministry said. The war in Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel's assault on the strip has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, while displacing most of the population and causing hunger. Militants took 251 people hostage during the October 7 attacks, of whom 50 remain in Gaza. Only 20 are believed to be alive, and their plight is a central preoccupation for most Israelis. Most Israeli media gives little coverage to how Palestinians are affected by the war in Gaza. In the northern port city of Haifa, people were sipping coffees and fruit juices at a cafe terrace, chatting, reading newspapers or scrolling on their phones, but some also felt Israel's problems had not ended with the Iran ceasefire. "We have one trouble less than we had before. That's the situation, you know? Nothing is all right here, nothing," said Ina Marom, 71, a family doctor. Some hoped that the Iran ceasefire would provide momentum for a deal on Gaza. "I think Gaza should be part of it because it's all connected," said Jonatan, 45, an estate agent who did not wish to give his surname. For some, the joy of normal life was enough for now. "Today I feel freedom. I feel that I'm back to life," said Orly Sapir, 66, a lawyer who had just enjoyed a workout at the gym. "It's life! And I know now much more to appreciate it."
BBC News
34 minutes ago
- BBC News
Trump pushes back after leaked report suggests Iran strikes had limited impact
Donald Trump and his top officials have pushed back on a leaked intelligence report that said US strikes on Iran only set its nuclear programme back by a few at a Nato summit in The Hague on Wednesday, Trump said the strikes led to the "virtual obliteration" of Iran's nuclear capabilities and set its atomic programme back "by decades".Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was also at the summit, said the preliminary Pentagon assessment was made with "low confidence" and the FBI was investigating the Tuesday, sources familiar with the initial report into Saturday's bombings told the BBC's US partner CBS that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium was not eliminated. They added that the strikes had only set the country's nuclear programme back by a few months - an assessment the White House swiftly described as "flat-out wrong".According to the report, strikes on the heavily fortified enrichment facilities at Fordo and Natanz had sealed off entrances but failed to destroy underground familiar with the leaked Defense Intelligence Agency evaluation warned it was an early assessment that could change as more information becomes available about the sites. Live: Follow latest updatesBBC Verify Live: Analysing new satellite images of nuclear sitesWatch: How successful have the US strikes on Iran been? The Defense Intelligence Agency is the Pentagon's own agency which specialises in military intelligence to support operations. It collects large amounts of technical intelligence, but is distinct from other agencies like the US has 18 intelligence agencies, which sometimes produce conflicting reports based on their mission and area of expertise. For example, the American intelligence community is still not in agreement over the origins of Wednesday, while sitting alongside Nato Chief Mark Rutte, Trump initially acknowledged some uncertainty, saying the intelligence on the attack was "very inconclusive".But he then went further in his assessment, saying "it was very severe, it was [an] obliteration".When asked if the US would strike again should Iran resume its nuclear activities, Trump said: "Sure, but I'm not going to have to worry about that. It's gone for years."Trump later likened the strikes to America's atomic bombing of Hiroshima at the end of World War Two."I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima, I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki, but that was essentially the same thing - that ended a war," he US president was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, who both echoed his scepticism about the leaked said the leak was politically motivated and insisted the bombs landed "precisely where they were supposed to".He added: "Any assessment that tells you it was something otherwise is speculating with other motives." He characterised the leak as "completely false".Rubio also cast doubt on the leaked report's credibility, suggesting the contents had been distorted in the media and labelling the leakers as "professional stabbers". The preliminary assessment also indicated that some of Iran's enriched uranium stockpile had been moved prior to the to sources familiar with it, Iran's centrifuges remain largely "intact" with the destruction limited to aboveground buildings. Entrances to two nuclear facilities were blocked and some infrastructure was damaged, they said, but much of the deeper installations survived the US intelligence terminology, "low confidence" typically indicates that the information is either poorly sourced, fragmented, or uncertain - making it less reliable than assessments graded with "moderate" or "high confidence". Hegseth's reference to the report being "low confidence" suggest it is tentative and its findings may change as more detail US struck three nuclear sites in Iran on Saturday - Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan - using "bunker buster" bombs designed to penetrate hardened underground targets. While the specific munitions used in the attack have not been confirmed, the 30,000lb (14,000kg) Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), was thought to be the only weapon capable of destroying Iran's underground enrichment has always said its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. In the hours that followed Saturday's strikes, Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told reporters that it would take time to assess the damage to the he added that "all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction". Satellite images showed six fresh craters clustered around two entry points at the Fordo nuclear sites, as well as grey dust and is unclear from the latest satellite images, however, how much damage the sites sustained below the Abedini, the deputy political director of Iran's state broadcaster, said the three sites targeted by the US had been evacuated a "while ago", and that Iran "didn't suffer a major blow because the materials had already been taken out".Both US and Israeli officials, meanwhile, have hailed the mission as a success.
