Why Iran Is Buying Russian Missiles

When your $2 billion air defense system gets shredded in a matter of hours, you don't just rebuild the same thing. You rethink everything. That's exactly what Iran is doing after last year's devastating losses to Israeli airstrikes, and the solution involves thousands of Russian shoulder-fired missiles worth $591 million.

The Expensive Lesson of Fixed Targets

Iran's reported deal with Russia for Verba portable surface-to-air missiles isn't just military shopping—it's a fundamental strategy pivot. The Financial Times revelation this month exposes how Tehran is abandoning its faith in expensive, stationary defense systems that proved sitting ducks for precision strikes.

The logic is brutally simple: Why spend billions on a radar installation that can be destroyed by a single missile when you can deploy thousands of mobile launchers that cost a fraction of the price? Each Verba system costs roughly $200,000, compared to tens of millions for traditional air defense batteries. More importantly, they're nearly impossible to track and eliminate preemptively.

This shift reflects a broader trend in modern warfare where asymmetric tactics often trump technological superiority. Ukraine's use of portable anti-tank missiles against Russian armor offers a parallel lesson: sometimes the cheapest weapon wins.

Russia's Strategic Calculation

For Putin's government, this deal serves multiple purposes beyond the immediate revenue. Strengthening Iran's defensive capabilities effectively creates a more formidable proxy against US and Israeli influence in the Middle East. It's geopolitical chess played with missile systems.

The timing is particularly telling. As Russia burns through its weapons stockpile in Ukraine, it's simultaneously receiving Iranian Shahed drones in return. This weapons swap allows both countries to sustain their respective conflicts while building deeper military interdependence.

Russia also benefits from field-testing its weapons systems in real combat scenarios without direct involvement. Iranian operators using Verba missiles against Israeli aircraft would provide invaluable performance data for future Russian military planning.

Changing the Air Power Equation

If this deal materializes, it could significantly complicate Israeli and American military planning. Israel's air force has long enjoyed near-total air superiority in regional conflicts, enabling precise strikes with minimal risk. Thousands of portable SAMs scattered across Iran would create a fundamentally different threat environment.

Unlike fixed installations that can be mapped and targeted, shoulder-fired missiles can appear anywhere, anytime. A single operator with a Verba system hiding in an urban area or mountainous terrain poses the same threat to a $100 million F-35 as a massive radar complex.

This doesn't necessarily negate air power, but it raises the stakes considerably. Pilots would face constant uncertainty about where the next threat might emerge, potentially limiting the effectiveness of air campaigns that have been central to Israeli military doctrine.

The Proliferation Question

Beyond the immediate Iran-Israel dynamic, this deal raises uncomfortable questions about weapons proliferation. Portable SAMs have a troubling history of ending up in non-state actors' hands. The Stinger missiles supplied to Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s later became a persistent headache for civilian aviation security.

Will Iran maintain strict control over these weapons, or might some find their way to proxy forces across the region? Hezbollah, Hamas, and other Iranian-backed groups could dramatically enhance their capabilities with access to modern portable SAMs.