Iran arms Russia with missiles, Blinken warns of sanctions
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed that Tehran has provided Russia with missiles that Moscow can use to attack Ukraine.
Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this on Tuesday. The head of American diplomacy stated that in response, Washington intends to impose sanctions on Tehran.
"We've warned Tehran publicly, we've warned Tehran privately, that taking this step would be a dangerous escalation," said Blinken. "Russia has now received shipments of these missiles," he added, without specifying the exact delivery date. The diplomat also indicated that Russia will most likely utilise these deliveries within a few weeks. New sanctions against Tehran will be announced Tuesday, including measures directed against Iran Air.
However, Iranian and Russian authorities deny these reports. "Not every time information of this kind corresponds to reality," said Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, on Monday. He added that Russia is developing dialogue with Iran in the most sensitive areas and will continue to do so.
Bilateral relations between Iran and Russia
Blinken stated that the new missiles will allow the Kremlin to save on its own missiles, which can be reserved for attacks on more distant targets. Iranian missiles, with a shorter range than Russian ones, will be used for attacks at shorter distances.
According to "The Washington Post," citing sources in American diplomacy, in return for the deliveries, Iran is supposed to receive assistance from Russia in implementing its nuclear programme.
