 Russia is afraid of getting ballistic missiles from Iran. Western officials say Moscow has hesitated to buy ballistic missiles from Tehran out of concern that Ukraine's allies would in response supply Kiev with long-range rockets. Iran has provided Russia with hundreds of kamikaze drones that have been used to attack Ukrainian infrastructure. Western countries say the Islamic Republic is open to further military cooperation with Russia. However, the Financial Times quoted some Western officials that, despite pressures on its own supplies, Russia has held back from purchases of Iran's long-range ballistic missiles. According to assessments in NATO countries, the Kremlin is afraid that Washington might provide Kiev with the long-sought ATA CMS Missiles System whose 300 kilometer range could reach deep into Russian-held territory in Crimea. The system has almost four times the range of US-supplied Himmars missile systems that Ukraine has used to devastating effects against Russian forces, adds the report. The Russian military was already concerned about its ability to sustain the war, one official added, with guided missile and artillery supplies running as low as half their levels late last year. The Russians are in dire straits, they need missiles, said one European official. Helped by Russia, Iran has developed the largest fleet of ballistic missiles in the Middle East under a program that Washington described in 2019 as increasingly accurate and sophisticated. Western officials say the Islamic Republic and Russia explored exchanging modern weaponry for ballistic missiles, but those talks have stopped because of the potential repercussions of such a deal for both sides.