Amid the expiry of UN restrictions on missile trade with Iran, there are signs of increasing military-technical cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. The two sides have over the past year come under rising western pressure over Iranian deliveries of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) along with associated technology to Russia. Tehran has rejected the western condemnation of the trade, saying that the drones were not earmarked for the Ukraine war.

A month before the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 on financial and legal restrictions on Iran's missile program expired on Oct. 18, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Tehran to strengthen "bilateral military ties." Moreover, on the day the UN embargo ended, the Russian Foreign Ministry harshly criticized Brussels and Washington for maintaining unilateral restrictions on Tehran. Of note, the expiry of the UN embargo is mandated by the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which also obliges European governments to lift national and...