WASHINGTON — Russia has received short-range ballistic missiles from Iran and is expected to use them on the Ukrainian battlefield within weeks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Tuesday.
“The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line, while dedicating the new missiles it’s receiving from Iran to closer range targets,” Blinken said in a news conference in London alongside his British counterpart, David Lammy.
In exchange for the missiles, Blinken said Russia is sharing technology with Iran, including on nuclear issues and space.
The top US diplomat said the United States would announce sanctions Tuesday, including measures that target Iranian flag carrier Iran Air.
Blinken and Lammy announced they will be jointly traveling to Kyiv on Wednesday to discuss continued support for Ukraine’s defense with its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and senior Ukrainian government officials.
The leaders of the Group of Seven world powers threatened in March to respond to any Iranian missile transfer with coordinated sanctions, including with a possible ban on Iran Air flights to Europe.
The missile delivery is evidence of a deepening military partnership that’s already seen Iran send hundreds of cheap one-way attack drones to Russia during its two-and-a-half-year war against Ukraine. Western officials say Russia has used the Iranian drones to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses while targeting civilians and critical infrastructure across the country.
Gregory Brew, Eurasia Group’s country analyst for Iran, said the ballistic missiles will free up Russia to use its own missiles against targets deeper inside Ukraine.
“Hundreds of Iranian short-range ballistic missiles augment Russia’s existing capabilities and suggest that it may be gaining even more of an upper hand over Ukraine,” Brew told Al-Monitor.
The missile delivery was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The news follows the July election of a new Iranian president who campaigned on greater engagement with the West. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to negotiate directly with the United States and Europe to lift the sanctions that have taken a major toll on Iran’s economy. Tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high over the accelerating Iranian nuclear program as well as Iranian support for Hamas and other regional militant groups.
Iran denied carrying out the missile transfer, with its mission to the United Nations saying in a statement Friday that it doesn’t provide military support to either side in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Russian government did not refute the reports. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday, “This kind of information is not true every time.”
“Iran is our important partner,” Peskov continued. “We are developing our trade and economic relations. We are developing our cooperation and dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive ones.”
On Monday, the Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires, Shahriar Amouzegar, to warn the missile delivery would have “devastating and irreparable consequences” for relations between Ukraine and Iran.
This developing story has been updated since initial publication.
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