On February 22, 2026, the Financial Times reported that Iran and Russia finalized a substantial arms deal, substantiated by leaked contracts and documents analyzed by the paper.
Iran reportedly signed a secret €500million ($589million) arms agreement with Russia in Dec 2025 to acquire advanced Verba man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS).
The deal was brokered between Russia’s state weapons exporter, Rosoboronexport, and Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
Israeli strikes in June 2025 reportedly “peeled back layers” of Iran’s protection, destroying almost all of its Russian-supplied S-300 batteries.
This agreement signals Russia’s disregard for UN “snapback” arms export bans triggered by the UK, France, and Germany in late 2025.
The purchase follows the signing of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian in January 2025.
Details of the agreement
The contract specifies the delivery of 500 Verba launch units and 2,500 9M336 missiles.
Deliveries are scheduled in three tranches between 2027 and 2029.
Leaked documents indicate individual 9M336 missiles are priced at €170,000 each, while launch systems cost €40,000 per unit.
The Verba is a fourth-generation, infrared-guided missile system designed for high effectiveness against modern threats, targeting Low-flying aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Unlike larger systems like the S-300 or S-400, it can be deployed quickly by small mobile teams without extensive training or fixed radar integration.
The deal includes 500 “Mowgli-2” night-vision sights to enable tracking in total darkness.
Geopolitical context
The significance of the €500million Verba deal lies in its timing, the specific technology transferred, and the total collapse of international arms embargoes.
The “12-Day War” in mid-2025 reportedly destroyed nearly all of Iran’s Russian-supplied S-300 batteries. While Iran produces domestic systems (like the Bavar-373), the acquisition of 2,500 Verba missiles provides an immediate, “low-tier” shield.
These MANPADS are much harder to detect and preemptively strike than large, radar-emitting S-300/400 units, making it riskier for Israeli or US jets to operate at low altitudes.
The deal is a direct challenge to the UN “snapback” sanctions triggered by the UK, France, and Germany in late 2025.
By proceeding with the sale, Russia has effectively signaled that it no longer recognizes Western-led international arms restrictions on Iran, cementing a “coalition of the sanctioned” that operates entirely outside the Western financial and legal system.
Strategic “Quid Pro Quo”
The agreement is widely viewed as Russia’s “payment” for Iran’s extensive support during the war in Ukraine.
Having supplied Russia with thousands of Shahed drones and ballistic missiles, Tehran is now cashing in its chips for high-end Russian hardware it was previously denied, such as the Verba systems and Su-35 fighter jets.
Guerilla Air Defence Capability
Unlike the S-400, which requires a massive logistical footprint, the Verba can be operated by a single soldier.
This allows Iran to equip mobile “hunter-killer” teams across its vast, mountainous terrain and potentially proliferate the technology to regional proxies (Hezbollah, Houthis), increasing the threat to commercial aviation and Western military assets across the Middle East.
Shift to the “East”
The deal was finalized just weeks before the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Moscow and Tehran took full effect.
It marks the transition of the relationship from a transactional “marriage of convenience” to a formal, long-term military alliance aimed at countering Western influence in West Asia.
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