Russia has agreed to supply Iran with hundreds of portable air defense systems under a covert €500 million contract, according to leaked documents reviewed by the Financial Times. The deal represents Tehran’s largest known effort to reconstitute missile defenses destroyed during last year’s conflict with Israel.
The agreement calls for 500 Verba man-portable launch units and 2,500 accompanying 9M336 missiles to be delivered in three allotments between 2027 and 2029. A source with knowledge of the arrangement told the Financial Times that a limited number of systems may have already arrived ahead of schedule.
Tehran’s formal request came last July, in the immediate aftermath of the 12-day war in which U.S. and Israeli forces struck three Iranian nuclear facilities. The coordinated assault severely diminished Iran’s air defense network, allowing Israeli jets to operate with near-impunity in significant portions of Iranian airspace.
The Verba represents one of Moscow’s newest portable air defense platforms. The shoulder-launched system uses infrared guidance to track and engage cruise missiles, helicopters, and unmanned aircraft.
The transaction was reportedly facilitated by Ruhollah Katebi, an Iranian defense ministry official based in Moscow. The U.S. Treasury placed Katebi under sanctions in September 2024, identifying him as the primary liaison between Russia’s government and Iran’s defense establishment. Katebi previously coordinated Iran’s transfer of Fath-360 ballistic missiles to Russian forces.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia appeared to acknowledge active military shipments this week. “We have signed strong military and defense agreements with Russia,” Kazem Jalali said in a state television interview. “These aircraft demonstrate that those agreements are being implemented.”
Separate reports indicate Iran took delivery of as many as six Russian Mi-28NE attack helicopters in January.
🇷🇺🇮🇷 It is believed that Iran has received the first batch of Mil Mi-28NE attack helicopters ordered in Russia.
Photos of a Mil Mi-28 helicopter in digital desert camo stationed in a hangar have emerged on social media.
The arrival of the first Havocs in Iran was also… pic.twitter.com/SgZxwy9ivP
— Status-6 (War & Military News) (@Archer83Able) January 28, 2026
The disclosure comes as President Donald Trump has positioned significant American military assets across the Middle East, warning Iran of potential strikes unless it agrees to restrictions on its nuclear activities.
