The United States said Iran’s delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia would constitute a “dramatic escalation” of Tehran’s support for Moscow in the war in Ukraine and could have “serious consequences.”
“We are incredibly troubled by this information,” State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would constitute a dramatic escalation of Iran’s support for Russia against Ukraine,” he stressed.
“We have made it clear that we were prepared to impose significant consequences,” the spokesman said, without elaborating on what measures the United States or its allies might take against Iran.
Meanwhile, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the United States could not confirm reports that Iran had supplied Russia with ballistic missiles.
A senior Iranian official denied the reports earlier today, calling them “psychological warfare”. A representative of the European Union described the information as “reliable”.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States has informed its European allies of the delivery of Iranian short-range missiles to Russia as Moscow steps up attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
The Kremlin did not deny that Iran was supplying it with such missiles, noting that Russia is developing as it sees fit its relations with Tehran, especially in the “most sensitive” areas.
Tehran, for its part, has assured that it is not delivering weapons to Moscow.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in London today through Tuesday for a two-day visit to discuss the Middle East and Ukraine ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the United States at the end of the week.
Blinken is expected to meet mainly with his British counterpart David Lammy.
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