The United States and key European allies have accused Iran of dangerously escalating a pattern of malign activity that threatens European security with its alleged supply of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart David Lammy officially accused Iran of the missile transfers and Blinken announced new sanctions against Tehran.
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Blinken also accused Moscow of sharing technology sought by Tehran, including nuclear technology.
“Russia has now received shipments of these (Iranian) ballistic missiles and is likely to use them in Ukraine against Ukrainians within weeks,” Blinken said.
The German Foreign Ministry then called on Iran to support Russia’s “aggressive war”, noting that Iranian missiles could hit European soil as a result.
She shared a joint German, French and British statement condemning the moves, saying “This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia and is a direct threat to European security.”
On September 9, Tehran unequivocally denied accusations that it had supplied such weapons to Russia.
Experts agree that such missiles could boost Moscow’s war effort in neighboring Ukraine, which already benefits from supplies of Iranian drones and technology.
The Wall Street Journal and other US media cited anonymous sources as saying that Iran’s missiles hit a key moment in the 36-month-old large-scale invasion.
Supporting Ukraine in its defense against Russian invasion is one of the main points on the agenda of Blinken’s visit to London, which was supposed to include a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Blinken and Lammy reiterated the US and UK’s continued support for Kyiv and announced plans to travel to Ukraine this week, in what Lammy called “the first joint visit of its kind in over a decade.”
“This is a disturbing action that we are seeing from Iran,” Lammy said. “It’s certainly a significant escalation and we’re coordinating.”
Blinken-Lammy’s meeting took place with Iran’s Security Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian in Russia for a meeting of BRICS security officials later this week.
Lammy said the United States and the United Kingdom are “fully aligned on the need to deal with Iran’s malign activity in the region and beyond.”
“We are seeing a disturbing pattern of increased Iranian support for the Kremlin’s illegal group, and today we discussed our shared commitment to hold Tehran accountable for undermining global stability,” Lammy said.
Blinken said Iran’s alleged deliveries of short-range ballistic missiles give Russia additional capabilities and flexibility and free up Moscow to devote more resources to longer-range targets in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
He said new US sanctions against Iran for defying warnings about arms shipments would be detailed later in the day and would include sanctions on Iran Air.
Germany then said it would also seek to name entities and individuals involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and transfers of such missiles and other weapons to Russia, including Iran Air.
Blinken announced no shift in Washington’s delivery of military or other aid to Ukraine, but promised that the United States would “listen intently” to Kiev’s needs and requests.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and a number of NATO members have encouraged Kiev supporters to dramatically lift restrictions on how — and where — Ukrainian forces can use Western-supplied weapons in the conflict.
The European Union on September 9 described as “credible” intelligence provided by allies suggesting Iran had supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles to help Moscow wage war in Ukraine, and signaled a “swift” response.
The statement came after the Kremlin refused to deny the allegations directly, instead emphasizing its cooperation with Tehran in “the most sensitive areas”, while Iran “vehemently denied” the allegations.
“We strongly reject the claims of Iran’s role in exporting arms to one side of the war,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told a news conference.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said the United States was “incredibly concerned about the reports of Iran moving missiles to Russia.”
