A U.S. administration official told VOA that whatever help other countries may be providing Iran has proved ineffective in the face of the U.S. military operation against the regime earlier this year and ongoing crippling economic pressure.
The official was responding to a VOA inquiry about a report by Britain’s Financial Times on Thursday alleging that Russia planned to export 90 helicopter mounted missile launchers to Iran.
FT cited Russian defense documents of an alleged production schedule covering 2024 and 2025. The report did not say if the military aid was delivered to Iran. Russia did not immediately respond to Thursday's report.
The publication of the report coincided with a visit to Moscow by Iran’s National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, who met with President Vladimir Putin Thursday.
“Iran was completely decimated militarily by Operation Epic Fury, and now, the regime is being strangled economically by Operation Economic Fury and one of the most successful blockades in history,” the official said in an email message to VOA, speaking on background.
“Nothing provided by any other country is helping Iran.”
The official did not explicitly say whether Iran was receiving external assistance or not.
Earlier this year, media reports also alleged that Russia provided Iran with intelligence about the locations of U.S. military bases in the Middle East.
Similarly, number of U.S. media outlets published reports accusing China of providing military assistance including satellite imagery to Iran target U.S. bases. Both countries rejected the claims.
President Donald Trump on July 24 said his Chinese and Russian counterparts, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, have pledged not to sell weapons to Iran. Trump warned at the time that “it would be very bad for them,” if they were to sell military hardware to the regime.
US administration official: Iran militarily destroyed, any external aid ineffective
U.S. forces strike military targets inside Iran