Iran dealt a blow to Vladimir Putin by slowing down its delivery of missiles to Russian forces, it has been claimed.
Russian Telegram channel General SVR alleged it was the real reason behind a phone call between the Kremlin leader and Tehran president Ebrahim Raisi
Putin was forced to “grovel and beg” Iran for help.
Moscow has become dependent on Iranian drones and missiles due to chronically slow arms production in its own military factories.
A Kremlin statement blandly said the phone talks had been about “scaling up bilateral cooperation across the board” and “consistently implementing mutually beneficial projects in energy, transport and logistics”.
The report from the Telegram channel said Iran “is delaying the delivery of ballistic missiles, a matter of acute concern to Russia's leadership”.
The phone call “was mainly devoted to this topic”.
Putin “tried to find out what caused the delay in the delivery of arms, in the first place ballistic missiles and launchers for those missiles.
“The Iranian president attributed the delay to difficulties and promised to resume in the foreseeable future.”
Putin allegedly “thanked Ebrahim Raisi for the weapons and military uniforms already delivered and very politely asked him to do everything possible to ensure uninterrupted deliveries.
The dependence of the situation on the frontline on arms supplies from Iran is forcing Putin to grovel and beg, which of course cannot displease Raisi.
In recent days Putin sent one of his most experienced diplomats to be ambassador to Iran, Alexey Dedov.
In November, the dictator’s right hand man went to Iran cap in hand to beg for new drones and missiles.
Anti-Western ex-FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev - secretary of the Kremlin’s security council and a former spymaster - was meant to ease the crisis in supply of weaponry by the Russian arms industry.
He offered to help the Tehran regime crush dissent in the country.
Russia urgently needs Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles from Iran, and continuing supplies of Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 kamikaze drones.
Last month The Mirror reported Russia had “run out” of Iranian-made drones to attack Ukraine - but expects them to be “re-suppled".
Western allies believe “desperate” Vladimir Putin has no Iranian drones left after there were no reports of them being used against Ukraine for two to three weeks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister finally admitted his country had supplied drones to the Kremlin - but insisted it happened before the war began.
But a Western official said: “They have run out, [but] they anticipate a re-supply."
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was thought a number of drones in the “low hundreds” had previously been gifted from Iran to Moscow.
