Ukraine conflict: International interest in Iran's drones skyrocketed

Western imperialist states, led by the United States, have always prioritised the sale of more weapons.

This was achieved through fanning crises and armed conflicts on the world's periphery.

However, the Iran-Iraq War laid the groundwork for the modern Iranian defence industry, proving that military achievements could be realised independently of western imperialists and that they could be marketed on a global scale.

It is no secret that Russia has been increasing its purchases of cutting-edge Iranian military technologies.

Moreover, the Russian government is contemplating replicating some of Iran's military achievements. In a recent interview, a retired US Air Force general detailed the capabilities of the Shahed-136 drone and alluded to the prospect of 6,000 Shahed-136 drones being assembled inside Russia.

The United States is extremely concerned about the likelihood of Iran continuing to supply Russia with high-tech drones, as stated by General Richard Newton: "From September of last year, Moscow has relied on Iran for the delivery of attack drones."

After the capabilities of Iran's military and defence drones were proven in the Ukraine conflict, the Iranian government has revealed that more than ninety countries are in line to purchase Iranian military hardware.

Recent reports indicate that Balkan nations, in particular Serbia, are prepared to host an assembly line for Iranian UAVs.Meanwhile, the Middle East Monitor stated that China has requested that Iran provide over 15,000 Iranian UAVs.

Following the British Defense Science and Technology Laboratory's (Dstl) analysis of the Shahed-131 drones, CNN cited Dstl's research in its recent coverage of Iranian drones active in the Ukrainian crisis, emphasising the drone's destructive capability and the existence of more modifications compared to previous models for inflicting maximum destruction on enemy targets. France 24 highlighted the massive industrial capabilities of Iran's military and defence industry in a broadcast covering the 44th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. This included the unveiling of ballistic missiles and the latest version of Iranian UAVs.

Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri stated that Iran has 39 years of experience developing UAVs and that "today, the manufacture of UAVs, from design to flight, has been and will be done inside Iran, and hundreds of Iranian scientists from various universities and industrialists have entered the field of designing drones."

Moreover, Brigadier General Mehdi Farhi, the Iranian Armed Forces' Deputy Minister of Defense, recently said that the bulk of the world's leading countries are now trying to purchase Iranian military equipment. This, he said, included "all sorts of missiles, including ballistics, air defence, short, medium, and long-range missiles, and other modern defensive technologies."

The Western bloc is naturally leery of Iranian drones being exported to other countries after years of denying Iran's defensive capabilities. They obviously want to prevent Iran from becoming a global leader in the military trade, so they are attempting, albeit in vain, to curb Tehran's ability to sell its military hardware abroad.

By: N. Daneshvar