On Tuesday evening, sometime after midnight Iraqi time, reports came in that airstrikes struck in the Iraq-Syria border area.
Videos circulating showed fire at the border crossing between Albukamal in Syria and Al-Qaim in Iraq. It remained unclear if an airstrike had taken place or if something else happened. The crossing is a key location and, since late 2017, has been a conduit for Iran to extend its influence across Iraq into Syria and to Lebanon.
The rumors of an airstrike, which some local commentators blamed on the US, is interesting because it comes amid heightened concerns about Iran’s role in the region and also the Iran-Russia relationship.
Iran has exported drones to Russia in its war against Ukraine, a fact that Tehran has now admitted after many months of denial. These are mostly the Shahed 136 drone, but there may be others.
Rather than sacrificing expensive Russian weaponry or aircraft, the kamikaze drones enable Moscow to wreak havoc on Ukrainians without paying the price.
A Sky News report said that Russia gave Iran some $141 million in cash and sent captured US and UK weapon systems “in return for dozens of deadly drones... a security source has claimed.”
This is one of the first reports to indicate what Russia paid for the drones it acquired. This comes amid rising concerns that Iran may supply Russia with more weapons, like ballistic missiles.
How would the missiles be transported and would the US or others seek to interdict this movement of dangerous weapons to Russia? What about the air defenses Ukraine needs to stop missiles from raining down on Ukraine during the tough winter months?
As Iran and Russia contemplate the next move, there is another corridor that Iran may be exploiting to spread chaos in the region.
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