Skip to content
How Russia planned to help Iran kill Americans

How Russia planned to help Iran kill Americans

Economist • May 7, 2026

T HERE ARE many reasons why America’s war on Iran has been failing. One of them is the effectiveness of Iranian drones. Now a confidential document obtained by The Economist from a trusted source suggests that Russia has offered to provide Iran with unjammable drones and training on how to use them against American troops in the Gulf and perhaps elsewhere.

The unit affected offers a vital capability

Toxic smoke billowed and molten fuel flowed like lava

Nordic pupils are returning to books and pens

The eurocratic guild at the heart of the EU is seeing its influence ebb

His one-year-old government looks exhausted, and voters are tiring rapidly

Shashank Joshi, our defence editor, invites a Ukrainian drone expert to write a guest edition

Extracted Entities

Countries (3)