Iran-Russia $500M Deal for Verba Air Defense Missiles

Iran and Russia have signed a secret arms agreement valued at approximately $500 million to supply Tehran with advanced portable air defense missiles, aiming to rebuild its defenses damaged in last year's regional conflict.

The deal, finalized in Moscow in December 2025, commits Russia to deliver 500 man-portable 9K333 Verba launch units and 2,500 associated 9M336 missiles over a three-year period. Deliveries are scheduled in three tranches from 2027 to 2029, though reports indicate some equipment may have already been transferred ahead of schedule. Negotiations involved Russia's state arms exporter, Rosoboronexport, and representatives from Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

The agreement comes in the wake of a 12-day war in June 2025, during which Israeli forces targeted Iranian military and nuclear sites, followed by U.S. strikes on three principal nuclear facilities. Those operations, conducted amid escalating hostilities between Iran and Israel, severely degraded Tehran's air defense network, according to assessments from involved parties. Iran formally requested the systems from Russia the following month, in July 2025, to enhance protection for...