FLASHBACK: Israel warned Biden admin weapons sent to Ukraine would end up in Iran

A high-ranking Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commander has expressed concern that weapons from the US and Western allies intended to aid Ukraine in their fight against Russia are now in the hands of Hamas terrorists and are being used to kill Israelis.

The commander told Newsweek in June on condition of anonymity that weapons, such as the Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile system, had been “diverted.”  He said that those weapons were “…being monitored from paramilitary forces operating on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war.”

According to the commander, “pro-Russian formations” were motivated to transfer “captured US-supplied weapons due to the close defense relationship between Moscow and Tehran.”

Pro-Ukrainian groups, motivated by financial gain smuggled the weapons primarily via the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

The commander told the outlet, "…they can research capabilities, and then learn how to manufacture them. I'm talking especially about Iran." The Israeli commander continued, "The other problem is that we are very worried that some of these capabilities are going to fall to Hezbollah and Hamas' hands."

The commander added that due to the IDF's focus on monitoring events in the Middle East, it is difficult to watch weapons coming from Europe and North Africa. "It's really challenging to build the picture, but we see the signs. We see the signs, and this is very, very troubling."

The outlet cited another source, who said on August 20 a Russian Il-76 transport aircraft dropped $100 million of cargo in Tehran which included Western weapons such as the US-made Javelins and United Kingdom-made Next-Generation Light Anti-armor Weapons (NLAWs). According to the outlet, the source provided satellite imagery to corroborate the information.

US officials attempted to downplay the revelation of weapons provided by the Pentagon ending up in the possession of terrorists. A State Department spokesperson told Newsweek "The US Government remains keenly aware of the risk of possible illicit diversion and is proactively taking steps to mitigate this risk in close cooperation with the government of Ukraine."

"We are sending weapons to help Ukraine defend itself in an active conflict, and realistically must acknowledge that there is a risk these weapons could be captured if territory changes hands, as can happen in any war."

The spokesperson continued, "We are closely engaging with the government of Ukraine at the highest levels to ensure accountability of assistance, even amidst Russia's unjust and unprovoked war against Ukraine. Ukraine has committed to securing US-donated equipment and technology and continues to provide extraordinary cooperation and transparency."

The spokesperson blamed Russian “disinformation” for the claim that the weapons could be coming from Ukraine. "Russia continues to push disinformation alleging illicit arms diversion by Ukraine to discredit Kyiv and discourage robust international support to Ukraine. Russia's forces and their proxies capturing weapons on the battlefield poses the greatest risk of diversion that could result in onward trafficking. By starting this war, Russia bears responsibility for any consequences that result from unauthorized re-transfer, including after battlefield capture."

Intelligence analyst Mark Galeotti, founder and CEO of the London-based Mayak Intelligence group, who co-authored a report examining the threat of illicit weapons flows out of Ukraine told Newsweek, "There is an inevitable bleed of small arms and man-portable weapons. That said, our evidence so far suggests that this is still on a very limited scale. The real problems begin when the shooting stops."

He continued, "Even more sophisticated weapons such as NLAWS and Javelins have gone missing and it is reasonable to suggest that potential buyers willing to pay what it takes may be able to acquire them."

He believes that “at this stage we are talking about one or two to examine and perhaps reverse-engineer rather than larger consignments," but there are "long-term risks, especially when the fighting stops and of small arms and man-portable weapons."

He added, “The sheer quantity of under-regulated weapons on both sides of the front line, the prevalence of corruption and transnational organized crime, and the established Black Sea smuggling routes that could quickly be re-established, all suggest that this is a serious potential problem that we should be addressing now."

Director of the Brussels-based Flemish Peace Institute and coordinator of its European Commission-funded Project INSIGHT Nils Duquet told Newsweek, "During each armed conflict weapons are diverted, especially small arms and light weapons. This is also the case in Ukraine where weapons have ended up in civilian hands, already in the first days of the current conflict."

Senior fellow at the Arms Control Association and director of the Forum on the Arms Trade Jeff Abramson told Newsweek, "Given the massive amount of weapons heading into the conflict in Ukraine, there is a near 100-percent certainty that some of those will end up in the hands of third countries that Washington would rather not have them. Highly portable weapons are in many ways the easiest to divert from the conflict, and small arms and light weapons are typically among the most long-lasting and easiest ones to leak from war zones."

Abramson added, "It is difficult to believe this conflict will be different than those before it, meaning that we should expect weapons provided to it will end up impacting neighboring regions as they eventually flow out in the coming years, and likely decades," and noted that regarding the Middle East, "these arms certainly could undermine efforts for stability" in the region.

According to Newsweek, the US has provided almost $50 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia attacked the country in February 2022 including thousands of Javelin missiles.

CNN and other outlets previously reported on evidence of Russia providing Iran with US-made weapons captured in Ukraine for the purpose of reverse engineering. Many of Iran’s Shahed drones have been linked to the reverse-engineering of a US RQ-170 drone that crashed in the country in 2011.

According to Newsweek, the Biden administration previously alleged that Iran, the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world was helping Russia develop UAVs and that Tehran has copied US design for TOW anti-tank missiles to develop the Toophan system, which has been used by Hezbollah and other militias and terrorist groups.

The outlet added that Iran has provided Russia with suicide drones and jets currently being used in Ukraine.