Mohammad Sadr, a member of Iran's Expediency Discernment Council, said that during the recent war between Israel and Iran Russia provided intelligence to Israel that helped destroy Iran's air defense system.
Sadr said his claims were based on "intelligence information and analysis" of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, during which, he asserted, Iran's air defense network was effectively wiped out.
Video: Mohammad Sadr during the interview
Speaking in an interview with BBC Persian, Sadr argued that Israel's precise strikes on all of Iran's air defense positions were suspicious, and pointed to Moscow's refusal to back Tehran.
The official, who once served as a close adviser to former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami, said that Russia had shown a "bias in favor of Israel" and that the latest war proved the "strategic agreement with Russia is nonsense."
According to Sadr, "Russia sold the S-400 system to Turkey, a NATO member, but not to Iran. It has not even been willing to sell us the Su-35 fighter jets until now. We must not think that Russia will come to Iran's aid when the time comes." He was referring to the repeatedly announced but never implemented deal for advanced Russian warplanes.
Sadr further claimed that from the moment President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter went down, he believed the crash was "an Israeli act" meant to send Tehran a message that "if Iran continues, we will continue too." At the time, speculation that the crash was the result of sabotage sparked widespread discussion in Iranian media and even viral jokes on social networks.
Iran's armed forces general staff has previously issued a statement denying the possibility of sabotage in the crash that killed Raisi and his entourage.
