Hackers Reveal Iran-Russia Arms Deal: Shahed Drones Sold for Gold

The group claims to have exfiltrated around 10 gigabytes of data from a shell company known as “Sahara Thunder”, which acts as a front for the IRGK, facilitating Iran’s arms sales to Russia.

The drones are said to be designed and manufactured by “Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center”. It is an Iranian company that also operates under the umbrella of the IRGK.

Hackers discovered that Russia and Iran negotiated a lower unit price for the bulk purchase.

Iran had set the initial price of one “Shahed” drone at 23 million rubles (about 236,000 euros).

However, during the negotiations, it was agreed that with the purchase of 6,000 units, one drone would cost 12 million rubles (almost 123,000 euros), and for 2,000 units, the price of one drone would be 18 million rubles (184,000 euros).

Both countries reportedly agreed to the largest purchase.

Other documents show that, at least in part, Russia paid for the drones with gold.

If the information revealed by the hackers about the price of the “Shaded” unit is true, then the purchase for Russia, although it has always been favorable, has not been as profitable as previously thought, Forbes notes.

Russia has been using Iranian-made Shahed drones in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.

2024-02-07 07:19:00
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