Iran smuggling weapons to Russian army to use in Ukraine

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

The Russian Army has begun using Iranian weapons and other military equipment sourced from Iraq, The Guardian UK daily reported on Tuesday.

Weapons include rocket propelled grenades, anti-tank missiles, a Brazilian-made Astro II rocket launching system and an Iranian-made Bavar-373 air defense system. Iran also returned a Russian made S-300 air defense system.

The Guardian cited a source who helped organize the delivery.

Since the overthrow of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, numerous militias and terror groups with varying ideologies and loyalties have been fighting each other, leaving the country flooded with weapons.

According to The Guardian, many of the arms have been legally acquired by Shi’ite militias aligned with Iran. In 2016, those militias were incorporated into the Iraqi military in order to fight Islamic State.

A commander in the militia which controls Iraq’s Salamja border crossing with Iran told The Guardian that RPGs, anti-tank missiles and a dismantled Brazilian rocket launching system were brought into Iran on March 26.

The weapons belonged to the Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group of Iraqi Shi’ite militias.

Those weapons were received by Iranian military officials and then taken to Russia by sea, the commander told The Guardian.

“We don’t care where the heavy weapons go [because we don’t need them at the moment],” one Hashd al-Shaabi source told The Guardian. “Whatever is anti-U.S. makes us happy.”