Russia agreed to arm Iran with 90 attack-helicopter missile launchers, report says, as Putin hosts Tehran's security chief

Russia agreed to supply Iran with 90 launchers for the same precision-guided missiles its forces use in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported Thursday, as Vladimir Putin hosted Iran's top security official at the Kremlin.

According to Iran International, which summarized the report, a Russian defense-industry production schedule for 2024 and 2025 lists an export order for 90 APU-L launchers for a buyer coded "K-10," a designation Russia's state arms exporter uses for Iran. The launchers fit Mi-28 attack helicopters, which Iran has already bought from Russia, and fire a guided missile that can hit moving targets. The documents, provided by a Ukrainian private intelligence group, do not show whether the launchers were delivered.

The same day, Putin met Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in Moscow, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The meeting comes amid fears in Tehran of renewed US strikes.