Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and will likely use them in Ukraine within weeks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday, warning that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatens wider European security.
Blinken, speaking at a news conference in London ahead of a visit to Kyiv he and Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy will make together, said Washington had privately warned Iran that providing ballistic missiles to Russia would “constitute a dramatic escalation” and said new sanctions would be imposed later yesterday.
Additional US sanctions on Iran will include measures against the airline Iran Air, and other countries are also expected to announce new steps, Blinken said.
“Russia has now received shipments with these ballistic missiles, and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukraine,” Blinken said, citing intelligence that he said has been shared with US allies and partners around the world.
Blinken said Iran has trained dozens of Russian military personnel to use its Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles.
The governments of France, Germany and Britain also said they would cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran and work towards sanctioning airline Iran Air.
A senior Iranian official on Monday denied the missile delivery reports.
