Russia to build attack drones for Ukraine war with Iran's help, intelligence assessment says

CNN gains access to secret military drone workshop in Ukraine 3:04

(CNN) --

Iran and Russia have reached an agreement to begin production of attack drones in Russia, according to a new intelligence assessment from a country closely monitoring Iran's weapons program.

Iran is starting to transfer blueprints and components for the drones to Russia after an initial deal was reached earlier this month, a source familiar with the assessment said.

US officials have said that Russia has received hundreds of drones from Tehran that have had a deadly effect on Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Iranian government acknowledged for the first time that it had sent a limited number of drones to Russia in the months before it began its invasion of Ukraine.

"Some Western countries have accused Iran of aiding the war in Ukraine by providing drones...we provided a limited number of drones to Russia in the months before the war in Ukraine began," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein said. Amir-Abdollahian, to reporters in Tehran.

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The goal is for Russia to produce thousands of new attack drones using Iranian components and blueprints, the source explained.

If the two countries go full steam ahead with their plan, the expectation is that production can start in a few months and Russia may be able to use the drones on the battlefield in Ukraine next year, the source said.

It would be a move that would further cement the Tehran-Moscow partnership and would likely draw significant anger from Ukraine and its Western allies, including the US.

The Washington Post was the first to report on the deal.

• Iran admits it supplied drones to Russia before the invasion of Ukraine

The efforts come after CNN and other outlets reported that Iran was preparing to send more weapons, including surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles and more attack drones, to Russia before the end of the year.

The source familiar with the assessment said those reports caused concern in Iran, which appears to have prompted the regime to reconsider its approach with plans to have Russia manufacture the drones instead of Iran transferring them directly.

The production process for attack drones is not complicated compared to the production of other weapons, the source explained.

A spokesperson for Iran's Mission to the United Nations did not explicitly deny the suggestion that Iran will help Russia manufacture drones, but said that Iran respects the principles of "sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity."

In a statement to CNN, the spokesperson said Iran and Russia "have maintained bilateral defense, science and research cooperation" for years, leading up to Russia's war in Ukraine.

• Ukraine says Iran will send Arash-2 drones to Russia.

  What impact can they have on the war?

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The spokesperson noted that parts of a UN Security Council Resolution that restricted certain arms transfers to or from Iran had expired in October 2020, so "the Islamic Republic of Iran has prioritized increasing defense cooperation with other countries," the spokesperson said.

Several nations, including the United States, have called Iran's supply of drones to Russia a violation of that resolution, and the G7 foreign ministers said in a joint statement that they "support efforts at the United Nations to hold Russia and Iran for their flagrant violations of UNSCR 2231”.

CNN has asked the Russian embassy in Washington for comment.

Asked for comment on the assessment, White House national security council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said: "Iran and Russia can lie to the world, but they cannot hide the facts: Tehran is helping to kill civilians. Ukrainians by supplying weapons and assisting Russia in its operations.

It is another sign of how isolated both Iran and Russia are."

“The United States, with allies and partners, is seeking every means to expose, deter, and confront Iran's supply of these munitions and Russia's use of these munitions against the Ukrainian people.

We will continue to provide Ukraine with the critical security assistance it needs to defend itself, including air defense systems," Watson said in the statement.

Drones have played a major role in the conflict since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February, but their use has increased since the summer, when the United States and Kyiv say Moscow acquired drones from Iran.

In recent weeks, these Iranian drones have been used to attack critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

Iranian drones are known as "loitering munitions" because they are capable of circling for some time in an area identified as a potential target and only attacking once an enemy asset is identified.

They are small, portable, and can be easily thrown, but their main advantage is that they are hard to spot and can be fired from a distance.

-- CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.