Russia said to be sending Iran drone parts via Caspian Sea, bypassing Hormuz blockade

According to New York Times, shipments could help Tehran quickly restock its drone arsenal amid ceasefire, while evading both sanctions and tense routes through Persian Gulf

Russia is sending drone components to Iran via Caspian Sea shipping, US officials told the New York Times in a report published Saturday, turning the world’s largest lake into a key conduit for both covert and overt trade.

According to the sources, who spoke to the American outlet on condition of anonymity, the long-overlooked trade corridor is helping Iran rebuild its military capabilities in the wake of the US-Israeli bombing campaign that ended last month in a tenuous ceasefire.

If shipments from Russia continue at their current pace, Iran could quickly restock its drone arsenal, US officials said, some 60 percent of which was lost during the recent war.

The Caspian Sea acts as a bridge, connecting the two countries which do not share a border but both have long coastlines on the massive inland sea. It allows Russia and Iran to trade openly, without fear of interdiction by US or other countries for evading sanctions, the New York Times reported.

According to the news outlet, Russia is sending goods that would normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded for weeks now by both the US and Iran. Goods transiting the Caspian Sea include grains, animal feed, sunflower oil and other staple products.

The Caspian is the world’s largest inland body of water and its southern coastline stretches more than 430 miles (700 kilometers) in northern Iran.

The shipping route is believed to be one of the main lines used by Russia and Iran to evade sanctions. The sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines reportedly regularly operates out of Bandar Anzali, not far from where the Iranian Navy is located.

“If you’re thinking about the ideal place for sanction evasion and military transfers, it’s the Caspian,” expert Nicole Grajewski, a professor at Paris’ Sciences Po, told the newspaper.

In mid-March, during the height of the US-Israeli war on Iran, the IDF struck a number of Iranian Navy vessels and naval infrastructure at the Iranian port city of Bandar Anzali and in the Caspian Sea.

According to the IDF, the strikes destroyed an Iranian Navy corvette, four missile boats, and several auxiliary ships and guard boats, along with a command center and a shipyard.

Those strikes were meant to disrupt transfers between Russia and Iran, according to reports in both the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times at the time.

Russia is a close ally of Iran, but has denied having sent military aid to its partner since the US and Israeli strikes began in February.

Drone warfare has been a key component of Iranian attacks on Israel and several Gulf countries, as well as the ongoing attacks on Israel by the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Moscow is providing satellite imagery and improved drone technology to aid Tehran’s targeting of US forces in the region, as well as supplying Iran with parts to modify Shahed drones, providing them with improved communications, navigation, and targeting capabilities.

Israel has not acknowledged the expected impact on Russia of its Caspian Sea strikes in March, likely a deliberate choice, given the careful line Jerusalem treads with Moscow.

Agencies contributed to this report.