The Financial Times reported that, in recent years, Russia has secretly helped Iran to develop supersonic anti-ship cruise missile technology—an issue that has gained more importance in parallel with the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council warning about Tehran’s new strategy in war.

Farzin Nadimi, a senior research fellow on defense and security affairs at the Washington Institute, said the Islamic Republic has long been seeking supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles and that Russian cooperation could bring this project closer to an operational phase.

He added that if these missiles enter service, American naval task groups may be forced to increase their operational distance from Iran, because these missiles create a significant threat to military vessels by reducing reaction time.