Iranian army dismisses claims of Russian, Chinese weapons transfers during 12-day war
The Cradle, November 5, 2025 —
Tehran is deepening ties with Moscow and Beijing through oil-for-arms talks and a long-term defense pact.
Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces on 4 November dismissed claims that Tehran had received weapons from Russia and China during the June war with Israel, after a lawmaker alleged the two partners had supplied air defense systems and other hardware to Iran.
“Following comments made by some uninformed and unauthorized individuals that have no responsibility in the Armed Forces, the Public Relations Center of the General Staff of the Armed Forces announces that any statements regarding military and defense cooperation with other countries, including the purchase or sale of equipment and weaponry, are without validity or credibility,” the statement said, according to Tasnim.
It emphasized that only official announcements issued by the Armed Forces’ communications center represent Iran’s position, adding that “all media outlets are expected to refrain from publishing or disseminating such news and information without coordination with this Center.”
The clarification came after Iranian lawmaker Amirhossein Sabeti claimed that the Islamic Republic had received military systems from its partners in Beijing and Moscow during the early days of the Israel–Iran war.
“On the fourth day of June’s war with Israel, Iran received a series of air defense systems from China,” Sabeti said.
“There hasn’t been a single weapon we asked for from China or Russia that they didn’t give us,” he added. “Neither China nor Russia set any red lines for us when it came to weapons; they said, ‘Whatever you want, we will give you.’”
Sabeti further asserted that any delay in equipment delivery was due to domestic factors, not foreign reluctance, describing Russia and China as “strategic partners” acting in good faith.
The Armed Forces’ statement, broadcast on state television, directly rejected such remarks, underscoring that only official sources are authorized to discuss Iran’s defense cooperation with other nations.
Recently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said there are “no limits” to military and technical cooperation with Iran, confirming that Moscow is meeting Tehran’s defense needs under the 20-year comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, which took effect last month.
Signed in January 2025, the pact commits both sides to counter shared security threats and bars assistance to any aggressor.
Lavrov’s remarks follow Israel’s June assault on Iran and subsequent Iranian retaliatory strikes that targeted key Israeli military sites.
Tehran, citing gaps in its air defense capabilities exposed during the fighting, is now expected to turn to Moscow and Beijing to strengthen its arsenal, despite Israeli appeals to Russia to halt new weapons sales.
In parallel, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Armed Forces General Staff have reportedly been negotiating with Chinese companies to obtain missiles, drones, and air defense systems in exchange for oil shipments, according to Iran International.
The talks, involving Beijing-based Haokun Energy Group – which owes Tehran nearly $1 billion for past oil purchases – aim to settle debts through direct weapons transfers. A high-ranking IRGC delegation visited China in September to finalize terms, coinciding with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s trip to Beijing.
The proposed arrangement, if confirmed, would mark China’s first known arms delivery to Iran as payment for oil, reflecting deepening covert cooperation between the two under renewed UN sanctions that restrict Iran’s ability to import weapons.