Russia is sending upgraded drones used in the Ukraine war to Iran, officials say

LONDON (AP) — Russia is sending a shipment of drones to Iran including upgraded versions of the drone technology that Tehran originally supplied to Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine, U.S. and European officials told The Associated Press this week.

Iran has been firing drone barrages at Israel, its Gulf neighbors and U.S. bases across the Middle East for more than a month following the U.S. and Israeli attack on the country. While Iran has its own stocks of Shahed drones, Russia has made improvements to the design during the war in Ukraine, including adding better navigation capabilities.

Russian and Iranian officials have had “very active” discussions this month regarding transferring drones from Russia to Iran, the European intelligence official told AP. A U.S. defense official said it is unclear if the shipment is a one-time delivery or part of a series. Neither official could say how significant the delivery is or how many drones were sent. Another European official said a small number of drones would not have a major impact on the outcome of the war. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The U.S. defense official said Moscow’s motivation in giving Tehran more advanced drones is also unclear given that every munition sent to Tehran is one Russia is not able to launch at Ukraine.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told AP that “nothing provided to Iran by any other country is affecting our operational success." She said the U.S. military has struck more than 10,000 targets and destroyed more than 140 Iranian naval vessels leading to Iran's missile attacks and drone attacks decreasing by 90%. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.

The European official said their intelligence suggests a drone shipment is on its way, but that they could not confirm exactly how the drones are being transported. Two convoys of trucks carrying what Russia has described as humanitarian aid have traveled to Iran from Russia via Azerbaijan and it's possible they could contain drones, the European official said.

The Russian Embassy in the Azerbaijani capital Baku said that seven trucks with 150 tons of food and other aid crossed to Astara in northern Iran on Friday while Russia's Emergency Ministry said 313 tons of medicine also was delivered to Astara by rail, the Interfax news agency reported.

A second European official said their country hasn’t been able to confirm Russian drone transfers to Iran, but said if drones are being transported by truck, their numbers are likely small and could be a largely symbolic gesture to maintain Moscow’s relations with Tehran. Moscow is helping Iran with targeting, the official added.

The U.K.’s latest defense intelligence assessment says Russia almost certainly provided training and intelligence, including on types of drones and electronic warfare, with Iran ahead of the war in the Middle East. Iran is also sharing information with Russia “quite generously,” the European intelligence official said, adding that Russian officials knew that Ali Larijani — a top Iranian security official — was dead before the rest of the world.

But Russia's relationship with Iran has been rocky, the European official said, adding that Iranian officials felt “deeply disappointed” after Russia did not help Iran during its 2025 conflict with Israel which led to Trump ordering an attack on three key Iranian nuclear sites.

Asked on Thursday about reports in the Financial Times that Russia was supplying drones to Iran, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described them as “false news stories."

Russia and Iran signed a $1.7 billion deal for Iran's Shahed drone technology after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022 and Moscow began using the Iranian imports in battle later that year.

The Iranian drones were first shipped disassembled to Russia but a production line was later opened at the Alabuga plant in Russia's central Tatarstan region. The plant has since rapidly expanded and recruited more workers including African women who say they were tricked into making drones.

Russian specialists have adapted and refined the Shahed drone by creating decoys with no explosives that are designed to overwhelm air defenses. They also have variously added jet engines, cameras, advanced anti-jammers, radio links, AI computing platforms or Starlink internet devices.

Drone debris found in Ukraine also indicates further cooperation between Iran and Russia on war technology, including exchanges in advanced anti-jamming systems and jet-powered engines that also are used to power Iran's cruise missiles.

The U.S. official said it is not clear which version or versions of the drone Moscow is shipping to Iran.

Earlier this year, Ukrainian officials said Russian troops lost access to their Starlink satellite internet terminals on the front line after Ukraine asked Elon Musk’s SpaceX to help deny Russia use of the service in Ukraine. Russian forces consequently lost command-and-control capabilities and navigation for Starlink-capable drones.

Moscow may be giving its Starlink-capable drones to Iran because it has become more difficult for Russian forces to use them in Ukraine, the U.S. official said. Or Moscow might be providing Iran with other Shahed variants that are jet-propelled, use AI to pilot the drone even without a signal or that are equipped with cameras for reconnaissance, the U.S. official said.

The delivery of advanced Russian drones to Iran could challenge the ability of the U.S. and its allies to intercept incoming drones, depending on how many Russian drones are sent or what Iran does with the more advanced Russian technology, the official said.

Jet propelled drones are faster and therefore significantly harder for the U.S's anti-drone system currently in the Middle East to take down without relying on limited stocks of expensive high-end weapons.

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AP Diplomatic Writer Matt Lee in Paris and White House correspondent Aamer Madhani in Washington D.C. contributed to this report.

FILE - Parts of downed Shahed drones launched by Russia are piled in a storage room of a research laboratory in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

FILE - This undated photograph released by the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate shows the wreckage of what Kyiv has described as an Iranian Shahed drone downed near Kupiansk, Ukraine. (Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate via AP, File)

FILE - An apartment building is damaged during a massive Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, Saturday, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Nina Lyashonok, File)

FILE - Ukrainian air defense intercepts a Shahed drone mid-air in the third Russia aerial attack on the capital in the last 24 hours in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, May 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 7 million student loan borrowers who have been enrolled in a Biden-era repayment plan will receive notices beginning Friday with instructions to seek a new plan to repay their debt, the Education Department said.

Borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan, which was struck down by a federal court earlier this month, have been in forbearance since July 2024 as a legal battle played out in courts. Starting July 1, loan servicers will begin issuing notices giving borrowers 90 days to select a new repayment plan.

The available repayment plans will mean higher monthly payments for most of those borrowers.

When Alexis Arredondo graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2024 with a degree in microbiology, he struggled to find full-time work in research or public health. Instead, he began working part-time and freelancing for nonprofits in Southern California.

A first-generation college student, he took on roughly $40,000 in student debt and enrolled in the SAVE plan upon graduation. Now, he said, he has to choose between paying more per month, which would be a struggle to afford, or a longer repayment period, which would increase how much he pays in interest.

“It’s very difficult knowing where I’m going to be to able to get this money from,” he said.

The SAVE plan was among several initiatives launched by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to reduce Americans’ student debt burden.

Under President Donald Trump, a Republican, “The days of unlawful loan forgiveness are behind us,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said.

“Let me be clear, the Trump administration’s perspective is that when a student takes out a loan, they are responsible for repaying it,” Kent told The Associated Press.

The SAVE plan provided more lenient terms than other repayment plans, reducing loan payments to as little as 5% of a borrower's discretionary income and offering forgiveness for borrowers who made payments for at least 10 years and originally borrowed $12,000 or less.

While the court challenges played out, borrowers enrolled in the plan have not been required to make payments. But debt balances began accruing interest following a court ruling last summer that blocked implementation of the SAVE plan, meaning some students will see increases in the amount they owe.

Borrowers have felt whiplash as the challenges to the SAVE plan worked their way through court, said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.

“Over and over again, education officials of both parties made promises about fixing the broken student loan system and called student debt a crisis,” he said. “And yet today, these same borrowers are being told it’s time to pay and you have no good options.”

The most forgiving income-based repayment plan now is calculated off at least 10% of an individual’s discretionary income.

Last year, the Trump administration and Congress made several changes to student loan repayment options that will take effect over the next two years. For one, new student loans will no longer have the option of deferment because of unemployment or economic hardship.

“You’re talking about a pressing current affordability crisis, and you took away the most affordable plan option,” said Alexander Lundrigan, policy and advocacy manager at Young Invincibles, an advocacy group.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit struck down the SAVE plan. The Education Department's notices to borrowers beginning Friday will direct them to enroll in a plan and resume making payments as soon as this summer.

Borrowers will be contacted by their loan servicers in stages, with a new group receiving word every two weeks. Those who had been enrolled in the SAVE plan the longest will be the first to receive notices.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

FILE - The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)