The vessel – the Port Olya 3 – was identified by Maxar Technologies in satellite imagery taken on September 4 at Port Olya in Astrakhan. The ship had previously been in the Iranian port of Amirabad on August 29, according to ship tracking data. It turned off its transponder at some point after. The US Treasury department assessed Tuesday that the Russian Ministry of Defense had “used the vessel Port Olya-3 to transport CRBMs from Iran to Russia.” “As of early September 2024, Russia received the first shipment of CBRMs (close-range ballistic missiles) from Iran,” the Treasury said, as it announced sanctions on the Port Olya 3 along with other vessels and several Iranian individuals. The military relationship between Iran and Russia has grown closer since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Iran has supplied thousands of “Shahed” attack drones to Russia, and according to US officials, built a…
