Iran agreed secret shoulder-fired missile deal with Russia - FT

Iran agreed a secret 500 million euro ($589 million) arms deal with Russia to acquire thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles, the Financial Times noted on Sunday, Report informs via Reuters.

The agreement, signed in Moscow in December, commits Russia to deliver 500 man-portable "Verba" launch units and 2,500 "9M336" missiles over three years, the FT said, citing leaked Russian documents seen by the FT and several people familiar with the deal.

Under the deal the deliveries are scheduled in three tranches, running from 2027 through 2029, the FT said.

The deal was negotiated between Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Moscow representative of Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), the FT said.

Tehran formally requested the systems last July, according to a contract seen by the FT.

In June last year, US forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites as the country joined Israel's military campaign against Iran. President Donald Trump said Iran's key nuclear facilities were destroyed in the attack.

However, according to a preliminary US intelligence assessment at the time, the US airstrikes did not destroy Iran's nuclear capability and only set it back by a few months.