Report: Moscow, Tehran Advance Plans for Drone Facility

Facts

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Moscow and Tehran are cooperating on plans to construct a factory in Russia to make at least 6K Iranian-designed drones to be used in the Ukraine war.
According to officials reportedly from a country aligned with the US, a high-level Iranian delegation flew to Russia in early January to visit the planned site for the factory and decide on details to start the project.
This drone factory is allegedly part of a $1B deal between both countries, which the White House claims to be developing a "full-fledged defense partnership" that includes also fighter jet training.
The Washington Post had reported in November that such plans were in the works, stating that Iran and Russia had finalized a deal that month after Russian officials visited Tehran.
On Friday, the US Dept. of the Treasury announced new sanctions on eight senior officials of an Iranian drone manufacturer for their role in Tehran's supply of drones to Russia.
Though Tehran acknowledged in November that it had provided drones to the Kremlin, its foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, stressed that shipments of a limited number of weapons were made before the Ukraine war.

Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by JNS. Iran is no longer seen by the West as a problem to be solved, but instead as an outright enemy that is helping to prolong the conflict in Ukraine. Tehran is on a direct collision course with the US and the West and has made a fatal mistake in choosing to side with Russia and Putin.
Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by PressTV. Western propaganda is spreading lies to try to justify the prolongation of the conflict in Ukraine. Despite having long-established defense cooperation with Moscow, Tehran is not taking part in any joint project to produce drones in Russia.