Russia has handed over at least 1.8 tons of gold bullion worth about $104 million to Iran as payment for combat drones used in the war against Ukraine. This is stated in a report by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS).

Payment schemes: gold, dirhams and cryptocurrency

The Russians made the payment through the Iranian company Sahara Thunder, which was sanctioned by the United States in April 2024 for supporting the Iranian Ministry of Defense and facilitating the transfer of drones to Russia. In March 2023, the delivery of approximately 1.79 tons of gold was recorded at a price of $58.32 per gram. In April of the same year, the parties agreed on another supply of more than 2 tons of gold, but the details of this transaction remain unknown.

In addition, Russia paid for the drones in dirhams, the currency of the United Arab Emirates, to a bank account in Dubai, using the UAE’s free trade zones. The report also notes that Iranian entities under sanctions may use cryptocurrencies for financial transactions.

Cooperation in Alabuga: drone production and personnel training

The Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of Tatarstan has become a key center of cooperation between Russia and Iran in the field of drone production. Since the end of 2022, the production of Shahed attack UAVs, which in Russia are called Geranium-2, has been localized here. 

The Alabuga plant also uses the labor of students from the local polytechnic university and workers from Africa who were recruited under the pretext of study or employment, but actually work in drone production.

Transfer of Fath-360 ballistic missiles

In August 2024, there were reports of Iran’s intentions to transfer hundreds of Fath-360 ballistic missiles to Russia. On September 10, former US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed that Russia had received new ballistic missiles from Iran for use in Ukraine.