Iran’s Aerospace Force chief linked to Shahed drone deliveries to Russia
Illustrative photo: the Iranian general actively assisted Russia in producing Shahed drones (Getty Images)
Ukrainian law enforcement has officially confirmed that a top Iranian general assisted Russia with the Shahed drones, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
Role of the Iranian general in the war
According to the investigation, during 2022–2023, the head of the IRGC Aerospace Force, General Abdollah Mehrabi, organized the delivery of bulk shipments of Iranian MD 550 engines to Russia.
This equipment is installed on Shahed-136 strike drones, which the occupiers use to attack Ukrainian territory.
The investigation found that Mehrabi used his authority as a co-owner and chairman of a specialized Iranian company. This enterprise manufactures UAV engines and is a strategically important facility within Iran’s defense-industrial complex.
Visits to Russia and the launch of a plant in Tatarstan
As Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko noted, the investigation established that in January 2023, General Abdollah Mehrabi personally visited the city of Yelabuga (Republic of Tatarstan).
Photo: Abdollah Mehrabi (t.me/SBUkr)
There, at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, he helped organize a new production site for the mass manufacture of kamikaze strike drones.
Thanks to this cooperation, Russia received during 2023–2024:
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Over 13,000 Geran-2 UAVs (the Russian copy of the Shahed-136);
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Equipment and components worth more than USD 324 million.
Training crews in occupied Crimea
In addition to technical support, Mehrabi is also involved in training Russian forces. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, he organized the training of drone operators and engineers directly on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories — in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Kherson region.
These units used Iranian technologies to carry out attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and population.
Suspicion
Based on the collected evidence, the SBU has formally charged Abdollah Mehrabi in absentia with aiding and abetting an aggressive war, committed in premeditated collusion by a group of individuals.
The articles under which he is charged carry a sentence of life imprisonment. Measures are currently underway to bring the suspect to justice.
Deliveries of Shahed drones to Russia
Iran, in addition to supplying parts for the Shahed drones, also provided Russia with fully assembled strike UAVs.
Military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in supplying kamikaze drones began even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted last year, the Iranian side justified the delivery of thousands of Shahed drones in 2022 by claiming that Russia’s order had been placed before the start of the full-scale invasion.
