Several high-ranking Russian missile experts visited Iran over the past year as Tehran strengthened its defense cooperation with Moscow, according to a Reuters review of travel records and employment data.

Documents reveal that seven Russian weapons specialists traveled from Moscow to Tehran on two separate flights, one on April 24 and the other on September 17, 2024. The travel records, including passport numbers, indicate that six of the seven used official state passports, typically issued to government officials and military personnel on foreign assignments.

A senior Iranian defense ministry official confirmed that Russian missile experts made multiple visits to Iranian missile production sites last year, including two underground facilities. Some of these visits reportedly took place in September. Additionally, a Western defense official monitoring Iran-Russia military cooperation stated that Russian specialists visited an Iranian missile base near the port of Amirabad on the Caspian Sea coast.

Reuters identified the seven Russian specialists as individuals with senior military backgrounds, including two colonels and two lieutenant-colonels. Their expertise spans air-defense missile systems, artillery, rocketry, advanced weapons development, and missile testing. However, their current employment status remains unclear.

When contacted by Reuters, five of the individuals denied visiting Iran or working for the military, one declined to comment, and another ended the call. Iran’s defense and foreign ministries, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), declined to comment. The Russian defense ministry also did not respond.

Iran and Russia have significantly expanded military cooperation in recent years, formalizing a 20-year defense pact in January 2024. This alliance has had implications for Russia's war in Ukraine, with Iranian-designed Shahed drones being deployed by Russian forces.

The flight records were initially obtained by the Iranian activist hacker group Hooshyaran-e Vatan and corroborated by Russian state database sources. Reuters confirmed the names of some of the individuals, including Denis Kalko and Vadim Malov, both linked to Russia’s military anti-aircraft defense. Others, such as Andrei Gusev and Alexander Antonov, specialize in artillery and rocket systems, while Oleg Fedosov is associated with Russia’s Directorate of Advanced Inter-Service Research and Special Projects.

Fedosov had previously traveled from Tehran to Moscow in October 2023, also using a state-issued passport, reinforcing indications of sustained defense engagements between the two nations.

This development comes at a time of rising regional tensions, with Iran engaging in military exchanges with Israel and deepening its strategic ties with Russia.