A senior Western official has told the Financial Times that new intelligence indicates Moscow is preparing to ship a batch of kamikaze drones to Iran as part of a broader support package, as the U.S.-Iran conflict approaches the one-month mark.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to confirm the shipment when contacted by the Financial Times, stating: 'There are a lot of fakes going around right now. One thing is true: we are continuing our dialogue with the Iranian leadership.'

A second Western security official told the FT that the specific type of Russian drones included in the shipment has not yet been determined, but that Moscow would likely deliver Geran-2 drones — systems widely regarded as modified copies of the Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drone.

The reported shipment comes amid significant attrition of Iranian drone capabilities. U.S. Central Command Chief Admiral Brad Cooper stated Wednesday that U.S. forces operating under Operation Epic Fury had struck their 10,000th target, adding that Iran's drone and missile launch rates have collapsed by 90 percent and that two-thirds of its military-industrial base has been destroyed or heavily damaged. Iranian forces have reportedly launched an estimated 3,000 drones at U.S. air bases, energy infrastructure, tankers, and neighboring Gulf states since the conflict began.

Analysts offered differing assessments of what Iran stands to gain from Russian drone deliveries. Antonio Giustozzi, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, argued that Iran's primary need is not quantity but quality: 'They don't need more drones. They need better drones. They are after the more advanced capabilities.'

Nicole Grajewski, a professor at Sciences Po University in Paris specializing in Russia-Iran relations, noted that Russian modifications to the Shahed design have already produced more capable systems: 'The Russians dramatically improved the Shaheds, including modifications to the engines, navigation, and anti-jamming capabilities. So these systems are already more advanced than the ones Iran was producing domestically.' Grajewski warned that any new Russian-made drone batch could meaningfully improve the effectiveness of future Iranian strikes.

Separate reporting cited in the original ZeroHedge article indicated that a crashed Iranian drone recovered in the early days of the conflict contained a Russian guidance chip incorporating Western-manufactured components. Additionally, reporting suggests China may be producing low-cost kamikaze drones relevant to the conflict.

Source: ZeroHedge, citing Financial Times reporting. https://www.zerohedge.com/military/western-intel-says-russia-preparing-drone-shipment-iran. Published March 26, 2026.