Iran has received hundreds of Chinese and Russian shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles during recent ceasefire periods, as it moves to rebuild its air defense network severely damaged during the war, according to Iranian opposition leaders who spoke to MBN.
The opposition figures, representing Kurdish and Ahwazi Arab groups, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — a designated terrorist organization by the United States — acquired three types of man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS), distributing them to military sites, urban centers and border regions across Iran while transferring some of the weapons to allied armed groups in Iraq.
MBN could not independently verify the reported shipments or the quantities involved. Iran, China and Russia have not publicly acknowledged the alleged deals.
Tehran has been working since May to restore air defenses that suffered extensive damage during the 40-day war in March and April with the United States and Israel.
In early March, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Israeli forces had destroyed about 80 percent of Iran’s air defense systems, giving Israel near-complete air superiority over the country.
Kurdish and Ahwazi opposition sources said negotiations to purchase Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense systems began during Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to Beijing in May. Araghchi was accompanied by officials from the IRGC and its Aerospace Force. Meetings held in both China and Tehran culminated in the signing of the deal in mid-June.
Hamid Motashar, head of the Ahwazi Liberal Party, said Iran received about 400 launchers of the Chinese QW-12 and FN-16 systems, along with ammunition and spare parts, in four air shipments from Urumqi in northwestern China via Pakistani airspace.
Motashar said the IRGC Aerospace Force deployed the systems across several interior regions, including Ahvaz, to protect command-and-control centers and military installations from potential air attacks.
The QW-12 and FN-16 systems are designed to intercept low-flying aircraft, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles. They can be carried and operated by individual soldiers or mounted on military vehicles and small naval vessels.
Motashar also claimed the Iranian military used one of the Chinese systems to shoot down a U.S.-made Lucas drone near Bandar Abbas on July 13.
The United States has not reported losing an aircraft matching that description on that date.
On Aug. 3, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported that a newly deployed IRGC air defense system had fired on and struck a U.S. MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. officials have not confirmed the incident.
Three Kurdish opposition leaders also said Iran received about 300 Russian-made 9K333 Verba MANPADS, along with their missiles, in five small shipments delivered across the Caspian Sea.
The systems were deployed near military bases and sensitive facilities in Tehran, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Mashhad and the border with Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, as well as to Iranian ports overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, according to Kurdish opposition leaders.
Iran has also transferred a number of shoulder-fired systems to allied armed groups in Iraq over the past two weeks in anticipation of a possible expansion of hostilities with the United States.
Farzin Karbasi, an Iranian Kurdish opposition political analyst based in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, said Tehran has used cease–fire periods to repair missile sites and expand its air defense network with Chinese and Russian support.
He added that Iran is also modifying some of its conventional drones by equipping them with jet engines to increase their speed, improve their ability to penetrate air defenses and enable them to carry larger explosive payloads.
Amer Al Sabaileh, a strategic affairs analyst, said the new systems were unlikely to enable Iran to alter the course of the conflict or eliminate U.S. air superiority.
Al Sabaileh told MBN that shoulder-fired air defense systems could pose a threat to low-flying aircraft during the opening stages of a confrontation but would likely become among the first targets of U.S. intelligence operations and precision strikes.
He said the systems’ value to Tehran may ultimately be more political and psychological than military.
“Shooting down a single American aircraft could provide Iran with a propaganda victory and a tool to pressure the U.S. administration,” he said. “But it would not change the balance of power in Iranian airspace.”
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
