US says Iran sent ballistic missiles to Russia for Ukraine attacks

US, UK, France and Germany announce sanctions on Iran and the EU has also vowed a strong response.

The United States has formally accused Iran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine and announced fresh sanctions on Tehran.

“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukrainians,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London on Tuesday.

“The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”

Iran has denied providing Russia with weapons to be used in the war in Ukraine.

“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict – which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations – to be inhumane,” a recent statement from Iran’s mission to the United Nations said.

“Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict.”

“We strongly reject the claims of Iran’s role in exporting arms to one side of the war,” Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told a news conference on Monday.

“Iran’s accusers are the ones who are among the biggest arms exporters to one side of the war,” he added, reiterating that Tehran “is not part of the war” in Ukraine.

Iran is already one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world, and some experts have questioned the benefit of adding more economic penalties.

The US Treasury and the State Department imposed sanctions on ten individuals and nine entities based in Iran and Russia, the Treasury said.

The sanctions freeze any US assets held by those targeted, denying them access, and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.

Included in Tuesday’s sanctions were ships that regularly bring cargo across the Caspian Sea between Iran and Russia, including the Port Olya-3, a vessel owned by Russia-based company MG-FLOT that was used to transport close-range ballistic missiles, the Treasury said.

The vessel made a series of voyages between the Russian Caspian port of Olya and Iran’s Amirabad port between May and August this year, according to ship tracking data.

The State Department also said Iran Air was further targeted because it was used to procure sensitive Western-origin goods and transport materials for Iran’s drone programme.

France, Germany and Britain also said they were canceling air services agreements with Iran and pledged to impose sanctions on Iran Air and those involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and providing arms to Russia.

While describing sanctions against Iran over the missile deliveries as a “positive step”, Ukrainian top presidential official Andriy Yermak said this was not enough.

“We also need authorisation to use Western weapons against military targets on Russian territory, the provision of longer-range missiles, and the enhancement of our air defence systems,” Yermak said on social media platform X.

The sanctions come as Blinken and Lammy are preparing to make a joint visit Wednesday to Ukraine, where they will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials to discuss bolstering the country’s defences.

The accusations about Iranian missiles could embolden Zelenskyy to further ramp up pressure on the US and other allies to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to attack deep inside Russia and hit sites from which Moscow launches aerial attacks.

Lammy called the Iranian missile transfers to Russia “a troubling pattern that we’re seeing. It is definitely a significant escalation.”