Houthis launch two missiles northward from Jardan Mountains - Al Arabiya

The previously unreported order adds to evidence of Russian assistance to Iran's military, including a secret program to help Tehran develop supersonic cruise missiles that could potentially threaten US Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf.

A Russian defense industry production schedule covering 2024 and 2025, obtained by the FT, identified an export order for 90 APU-L launchers from a buyer designated "K-10," a code used by Russia's state arms exporter to refer to Iran.

The documents did not establish whether the launchers were ultimately delivered.

Precision-guided weapons used in Ukraine

The launchers are designed to carry Russia's light multipurpose guided missile, known as LMUR or Izdeliye 305, a precision weapon capable of striking moving targets.

The missile entered Russian military service in 2022 and has since been widely used in Ukraine. An operator can guide it during flight, allowing adjustments to its target.

According to the US Army's Worldwide Equipment Guide, APU-L launchers are designed for Russia's Mi-28 attack helicopters and can carry two missiles each.

Iran has already acquired Russian Mi-28 helicopters. In November 2023, Iranian officials announced that arrangements for their delivery had been finalized. Images appearing online in January 2026 subsequently showed an Mi-28 at an aviation facility in Tehran, according to the FT.

The production documents were provided to the newspaper by Dallas Analytics, a Ukrainian private intelligence organization.

A May 2024 letter from Russian missile manufacturer Vympel warned another defense bureau that delays in supplying launcher components could jeopardize several contracts.

Russia also helped Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles

The latest report follows a September FT investigation revealing that Russia had secretly assisted Iran in developing supersonic cruise missile technology through a program codenamed C430L.

According to leaked Russian correspondence, travel records and military patents reviewed by the newspaper, the program began in 2023 and continued during this year's war involving Iran, the United States and Israel.

The project focused on developing a ramjet propulsion system capable of sustaining missile flight at several times the speed of sound, potentially reducing the time available for US and allied air defenses to respond.

"For the Iranians, this would give them a qualitatively new strategic weapon system that could threaten US Navy vessels," Jim Lamson, a former CIA military analyst specializing in Iran, told the FT.

Iran had built and flight-tested the propulsion system, but the newspaper found no evidence that a Russian-assisted supersonic cruise missile had entered operational service.

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Russian engineers reportedly traveled repeatedly to Iran and later analyzed Iranian flight-test data, advising on fuel systems, combustion stability, air intake and engine design.

"This is the transfer of a highly strategically sensitive military technology from Russia that the Iranians have wanted to acquire for decades," Fabian Hinz, a senior analyst at Conflict Armament Research, told the FT in September.

Military cooperation deepens during Iran war

The launcher agreement and missile development program illustrate different aspects of Russian assistance to Tehran, ranging from supplying military equipment to transferring specialized technical knowledge.

The FT has also reported that Russia agreed to supply Iran with Verba shoulder-fired air defense systems.

The relationship has developed in both directions. Iran previously supplied Russia with Shahed attack drones used in Ukraine and helped Moscow establish domestic production.

Western intelligence officials told the FT that Moscow and Tehran had strengthened their military partnership further during this year's conflict in the Middle East, despite US President Donald Trump's assertion that Russia was doing "very little, if anything" to assist Iran.

"It is indicative of Russia's willingness to continue supplying Iran despite its own wartime demands and with far less concern about western objections than in the past," Nicole Grajewski, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the newspaper.

Limits to Moscow's involvement

Despite growing cooperation, analysts cautioned against overstating Russia's role in the ongoing conflict.

Hanna Notte, Eurasia program director at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said Moscow was balancing its support for Iran against its relationships with Washington and other countries in the Middle East.

"Russia still has certain red lines when it comes to its involvement in this war," Notte told the FT.

"Which is why the support it has provided to Iran is operationally helpful but is not the game changer in this war."

"The reason we lost is the war," Vance wrote on X.

"If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so," Vance wrote on Wednesday. "But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."

Trump acknowledged that the war had contributed to the election setbacks but defended his decision to attack Iran, saying he would make the same choice again.

Trump defends Iran war

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump said Vance's assessment was "largely true," pointing to the rise in gasoline prices following the conflict.

"We had no choice. You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Asked when he would end the war, Trump replied: "Whenever I wanted to. But it's got to be done right, because they can't have a nuclear weapon."

In comments to The Wall Street Journal, Trump said "Iran was a piece of it," referring to the Republican losses, but reiterated that the military campaign was necessary.

Vance, who has been involved in negotiations with Tehran, also praised advice to seek a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Vance had opposed the war from the outset, despite publicly defending the administration's military actions.

US officials debate renewed strikes on Iran

Senior US officials are debating whether to escalate military operations against Iran or continue applying economic pressure while pursuing negotiations, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Axios.

The Journal reported on Wednesday that some officials were advocating an escalation of strikes, while the administration had spent weeks discussing the war's impact on the elections and whether to publicly acknowledge continuing military operations against Iran.

Axios reported that the US military was completing preparations for a possible resumption of major combat operations, including deploying additional military assets to the region.

Other senior officials favor maintaining the naval blockade of Iranian ports and economic sanctions while assessing whether Tehran is prepared to reach an agreement.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are among those advocating continued economic and military pressure rather than an immediate return to large-scale strikes, according to Axios.

Trump has not announced a decision on whether to expand the military campaign.

Qatar seeks agreement to avert renewed fighting

The discussions in Washington come as Qatar continues efforts to secure US and Iranian approval for a proposal aimed at preventing another major escalation and potentially restarting direct negotiations.

According to Axios, Qatari mediators are working to obtain support from both sides for a draft agreement, with the possibility of direct talks in the coming days.

Vance has been among the senior officials advising Trump to pursue an agreement with Iran, warning privately about the consequences of prolonging the war, the report said.

The mediation effort has yet to produce a breakthrough. Iranian and US officials remain divided over key issues, including Tehran's nuclear program, sanctions and arrangements involving the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump's administration is also considering maintaining its current approach of a naval blockade and economic pressure without immediately resuming large-scale military operations.

Trump backs defense secretary amid scrutiny of Iran campaign

Trump also defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday as questions emerged over whether the administration might change its military leadership following the election.

Asked whether he was considering replacing Hegseth, Trump said: "No, I think he's doing a very good job."

Reuters reported that some Trump advisers had discussed the possibility of replacing Hegseth, who has been a prominent supporter of the war against Iran.

Democratic lawmakers, who won control of both chambers of Congress, have indicated that they intend to investigate the Pentagon's handling of the Iran conflict.

The Defense Department said Hegseth remained committed to serving through the end of Trump's term and defended the legality of its operations.

With no agreement yet reached between Washington and Tehran, the administration continues to weigh renewed strikes, sustained economic pressure and diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

The World Gold Council (WGC) said demand for gold bars and coins in Iran fell by more than half to 5.6 tonnes in the third quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier.

“The war continued to disrupt daily life, and prompted some selling of bars and coins to cover living and relocation costs,” the report said.

Overall, Iranian demand for gold bars and coins reached 19.1 tonnes in the first nine months of 2026, down from 36.2 tonnes in the same period last year, a decline of approximately 47%.

“Iranian demand declined 17% to 5.4 tonnes as the ongoing war strained consumer sentiment and disrupted daily life,” the WGC said, referring to gold jewellery.

Jewellery purchases totalled 15.8 tonnes in the first nine months of 2026, compared with 21 tonnes in the same period last year.

An economy under strain

The decline comes amid a sharp depreciation of Iran's national currency and soaring gold prices. The rial has lost approximately 60% of its value against the US dollar over the past year.

Meanwhile, the price of the Bahar Azadi gold coin has surged by 141% over the past 12 months, putting new purchases increasingly beyond the reach of many households.

Years of US sanctions have restricted Iran's oil exports, access to international banking and foreign investment, depriving the economy of revenue and putting sustained pressure on the rial.

Decades of economic mismanagement, widespread corruption and inefficient state-dominated industries have compounded the damage, fuelling inflation and undermining living standards.

Official data from Iran's Statistical Center show that food inflation surged to nearly 123% last month, while prices for water, electricity and fuel almost doubled compared with October 2025.

The deteriorating economic situation has also been accompanied by job losses and a slowdown in business activity.

Wages fall behind living costs

Seyed Malek Hosseini, deputy minister for entrepreneurship development and employment at the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labour and Social Welfare, recently said around 500,000 jobs had been lost last year.

He added that a further 1.2 million to 1.4 million jobs had been lost following the latest war, which began on February 28. Hosseini put the country's current employed population at 23.5 million.

The financial pressure on Iranian households is also evident in the widening gap between wages and the cost of living.

Reuters recently reported that official estimates put the minimum monthly cost of living for a three-person working-class family at around $336, more than three times the average monthly wage of approximately $92 at the free-market exchange rate.

“As wages fail to keep pace with inflation, many families have exhausted savings, cut consumption or borrowed money to cover daily expenses,” Reuters reported.

For some Iranian households, gold is no longer simply a safeguard against the rial's collapse. It has become a way to pay for everyday necessities.

"It's important for the president, before we even cross over into the new Congress, to end this war in Iran," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told MS Now's Morning Joe programme.

Jeffries blamed what he called Trump's "reckless and costly war of choice in Iran" for driving up fuel and fertiliser costs, contributing to higher prices for groceries and other goods.

The Democrats' victories in Tuesday's elections gave them control of both the House of Representatives and Senate, reversing Republican majorities and potentially allowing them to constrain President Donald Trump's agenda during the final two years of his presidency.

Democrats flipped at least seven Republican-held Senate seats, winning in Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. They also captured more than two dozen Republican-held House districts, including areas Trump had won comfortably in the 2024 presidential election.

Among the most notable results, James Talarico became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988, defeating Republican Ken Paxton. Democrats also retained competitive Senate seats in Georgia and Michigan.

The scale of the victories reflected voter dissatisfaction over high living costs, the war with Iran and concerns about government corruption, according to Associated Press voter polling.

Democratic leaders demand an end to Iran war

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the incoming majority could use congressional control over government spending to push for an end to military operations against Iran.

"This war must end. It must end," Schumer told reporters Wednesday.

He said Congress's "power of the purse" was one way to restrain a president conducting a war without the consent of the American people.

Jeffries, who is set to become House speaker when the new Congress convenes in January, said the party's priority would be reducing the cost of groceries, gasoline, housing and healthcare.

"We ran on affordability. We won on affordability," he said.

Trump and Vance acknowledge war's impact

Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for Republicans' losses, writing on X that "the reason we lost is the war."

Trump acknowledged Wednesday that the conflict had likely contributed to the electoral defeat by pushing up gasoline prices, but defended his decision to launch military action against Tehran.

"I think it's largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit short term," Trump said when asked about Vance's assessment.

He insisted the war had been necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and said he would make the same decision again.

"I can tell you that as far as that war is concerned, I would have done nothing different," he said.

Trump also argued that Republicans would have won if he had been on the ballot, saying the enthusiasm he attracted at campaign rallies had not transferred to other Republican candidates.

The Democratic takeover of Congress will give the party greater power to investigate the Trump administration, challenge its legislative agenda and potentially restrict military funding.

However, Trump will retain the presidency and veto power, meaning congressional control alone will not give Democrats the authority to end the war.

Tehran hails results, warn against further strikes

Iranian officials portrayed the Democratic victories as a rejection of Trump's military campaign, although Tehran remained wary of renewed US attacks.

"Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message," Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X Wednesday.

Ghalibaf, who has led Iran's negotiations with Washington, warned the US government against disregarding voters' message by launching further strikes.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, however, dismissed expectations that a change in the balance of power in Washington would alter US hostility toward Tehran.

A written statement attributed to Khamenei warned against "even the slightest inclination towards submission" to the United States, saying Washington's approach would persist regardless of which party was in power.

"The US sees the end of its hegemony as distant; we see it as near," Khamenei added.

Two senior Iranian sources cited by Reuters said that while Tehran welcomed the Democratic victories, Iranian leaders feared Trump could attempt to compensate for his electoral setback with renewed military action.

On Iranian state television and in state-aligned media, commentators are debating how to make Tehran's threats of retaliation more credible, with proposals ranging from devastating attacks on military and energy infrastructure to changes in Iran's nuclear posture.

Speaking on the state television programme Be Vaght-e Iran (Iran Time) on Tuesday, international relations analyst Mostafa Najafi argued that Iran's previous military responses had failed to convince Israel that another conflict would carry sufficiently high costs.

Najafi said Israelis had experienced the impact of Iranian missile attacks during the second week of the 12-day war, but that the damage had been less significant during the subsequent 40-day war.

He cited Israeli polling that he said showed 60% of Israelis continued to support military action against Iran, potentially encouraging Israel to launch another operation.

"Any new deterrence equation must credibly convey to the Israeli enemy that if another confrontation occurs, the consequences will go beyond those of the 12-day war, the 40-day war, and the subsequent True Promise 1 and True Promise 2 operations," he said.

Najafi claimed that Iranian decision-makers had resolved to inflict considerably greater damage on Israel in any future confrontation. He argued that Tehran should demonstrate its ability to retaliate within minutes of an attack, sending credible signals before hostilities begin rather than waiting for another war.

Another panellist, Vahid Khazab, argued that Tehran should warn Washington that any new conflict would involve attacks on energy infrastructure.

He cited the attack on Qatar's Ras Laffan energy complex as an example of the damage Iran could inflict, claiming that it had not yet returned to production, unlike Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, which Riyadh had restored after an attack.

Khazab said Israel should also be warned that Iranian retaliation would target its infrastructure.

The discussion has continued even as the war's political consequences become increasingly apparent in Washington. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, with Trump acknowledging that the Iran war contributed to Republican losses. Vice President JD Vance went further, identifying the conflict as the principal reason for the defeat.

European targets enter the discussion

The debate comes amid increasingly expansive threats in Iranian state-aligned media about the geographical scope of any future conflict.

Referring to a recently reported meeting between Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and senior military commanders, Najafi said Tehran had previously warned that another war would become a regional conflict.

He argued that Khamenei's reported instruction to respond to attacks "without any geographical limitations" should now be treated as a credible threat by Iran's adversaries.

On Tuesday, Tehran Municipality-affiliated Hamshahri newspaper published a map of Europe and reported that Iran's armed forces were updating their list of potential targets "without geographical limitations."

The newspaper suggested that US air and naval bases, logistical facilities and other military infrastructure in Europe could be targeted if Washington and Israel attacked Iran's strategic infrastructure.

It also raised the possibility of extending the range of Iranian ballistic missiles, potentially bringing US bases in Europe within reach.

Nuclear doctrine and the NPT

The discussion has also extended to whether Iran should reconsider its nuclear doctrine and its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Najafi criticised Tehran for repeatedly threatening to change its nuclear doctrine before the 12-day and 40-day wars without following through, arguing that this had weakened its deterrence.

He said Iran needed to make a clear decision before another confrontation and communicate it through official channels, backed by a broader national consensus.

"Before the war, the message must be conveyed in every possible way to the other side and to all other parties, including hostile parties and allies who, in one way or another, play a role in our nuclear file," he said.

Najafi argued that changing Iran's nuclear doctrine would not necessarily require withdrawal from the NPT. He suggested Tehran could instead reduce its commitments under the treaty, while warning that withdrawal without a corresponding change in deterrence capabilities could expose Iran to additional threats.

"If you are going to make a change, and that change necessarily involves withdrawing from the NPT, without translating it into nuclear deterrence, I don't think it will create deterrence. It could even create additional threats against the country," he said.

Khazab offered a different approach, claiming he had received reliable information that Iranian decision-makers were considering using the threat of NPT withdrawal as a bargaining chip.

He suggested Tehran could seek concessions, including sanctions relief, in exchange for remaining in the treaty.

Khazab added that any such move would depend on Washington first meeting Iran's seven conditions for ending the war.