I’m uncertain, based on the accessible information if the missiles were actually shipped.- The claims come from Kiev and are supported by western officials They are not confirmed. Iran denies. And yet the US imposes more sanctions.
Updating at 10:06 am- So my suspicions look to have been correct as the tweet embedded below states
Faulty intelligence, flawed logic- Iran has not delivered ballistic missiles to Russia. Period
MK Bhadrakumar suggests the US and allies intend to escalate by allowing for strikes deep into Russian territory, ostensibly by Ukraine.(US/UK will be alongside) And this narrative has been created to justify the escalation.
Financial Times
Iran has sent “hundreds” of ballistic missiles to Russia in what Kyiv officials said marks a “serious escalation” of Tehran’s support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“More than 200” Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles arrived in a Russian Caspian Sea port this week, according to senior Ukrainian officials familiar with the matter. The surface-to-surface missiles have a range of up to 120km and are likely to be used by Russia to strike infrastructure and northern cities close to the border, such as Kharkiv and Sumy, and troop positions and military targets along the frontline, including around the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk, according to the Ukrainian officials.
The officials said the delivery of the Iranian short-range missiles will allow Russia to deploy its long-range hypersonic Kinzhal missiles — some of the most sophisticated weapons in the Kremlin’s arsenal — to hit targets deeper inside Ukraine.
The Kinzhals are more difficult to intercept, with only US-made Patriot air defence systems capable of shooting them down. Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian defence minister and director of the Kyiv-based Centre for Defence Strategies, said the Iranian missiles pose a “huge threat”.
“They will be sent to destroy the Ukrainian energy system, most likely in towns and cities,” he said. “That most likely means more deaths of civilians all over the country.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported the missile shipment,
citing US and European officials. Russia has escalated its attacks launching hundreds of missiles and Iranian-made “Shahed” attack drones on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in recent months, destroying 9GW of power generation capacity — half of the electricity Ukraine needs in winter — and causing widespread blackouts.An Iranian-made Russian drone crashed in eastern Latvia on Sunday, with preliminary reports suggesting an accidental entry from Belarus, said officials in Riga. On Saturday, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said it was deeply concerned about reports that Iran had sent the missiles to Russia and called on Tehran “to refrain from delivering any types of weapons and military equipment to Russia.” It said confirmation of the delivery would have “devastating consequences for Ukrainian-Iranian relations”.
In exchange for its drones and missiles, Tehran has received greater security co-operation from Moscow and military technology, according to Ukrainian intelligence assessments. “The deepening of military-technical co-operation between Russia and Iran poses serious security threats not only for Ukraine, but for the whole of Europe, the Middle East and the world,” said the foreign ministry in Kyiv. “We call on the international community to increase pressure on Tehran and Moscow to protect international peace and security.”
Ukraine’s western backers have not confirmed the delivery of Iranian missiles. But Sean Savett, a spokesperson at the US National Security Council, said on Sunday that Washington was alarmed by the reports and reiterated that together with allies, it was “prepared to deliver significant consequences”. A transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia would “represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”, said Savett, echoing comment by CIA director Bill Burns a day earlier at the Financial Times’ Weekend festival in London. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilising influence reaches beyond the Middle East.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, dismissed the allegations of missile sales as “completely baseless”, claiming they were fabricated by western states for “political purposes”.
Sanctions have been imposed
The US Department of State has announced new sanctions aimed at curbing Iran’s destabilizing activities, specifically targeting its transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, which supports Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, according to a State Department spokesperson’s announcement on Tuesday.
The new sanctions highlight the threat posed by the expanding military collaboration between Iran and Russia, which is seen as a significant risk to European security and global stability.
The new sanctions include the designation of the Iranian national airline company IRAN AIR, which is accused of materially contributing to the transfer of arms and related materials for Iran, particularly aiding the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its Quds Force. IRAN AIR is involved in transporting sensitive, western-origin goods and proliferation-sensitive materials to Iran, including UAVs used by Iran and provided to Russia for use in Ukraine.
One reply on “Iran ships ballistic missiles to Russia- US Imposes still more sanctions”
There is news of the Russia Supplying Iran with Missile Defense Systems- This could be true and might be another reason for the sanctions alongside the possibility of allowing long range strikes?
https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-said-to-be-delivering-advanced-air-defenses-to-iran-as-tehran-touts-ties/
“Iranian officials say Russia has begun delivering advanced air defense and radar equipment to Iran after Tehran asked the Kremlin for the arms, the New York Times reported Monday.
While local Iranian media reported that Tehran had requested the equipment, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and another official confirmed to the Times that not only had the request been made, but that deliveries had started.