Washington readies more sanctions against Iran over arms deliveries to Russia
The Cradle, September 10, 2024 —
Iran is allegedly sending short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has threatened to impose new sanctions on Iran in response to reports Tehran is sending ballistic missiles to Moscow for use in the war against Ukraine, The Washington Post reported on 10 September.
Blinken, who will visit Kyiv Wednesday for consultations with Ukraine’s leadership, said new sanctions, including measures against Iran Air, would be announced later Tuesday.
“We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately, that taking this step would be a dangerous escalation,” Blinken said. “Russia has now received shipments of these missiles.”
He claimed that Russia would likely use the shipments within weeks.
The government in Ukraine responded to the reports by threatening to strike warehouses in Russia storing Iranian-supplied missiles.
“In response to the supply of ballistic missiles to Russia, Ukraine must be allowed to destroy warehouses storing these missiles with Western weapons in order to avoid terror,” Ukrainian official Andrii Yermak said, without specifying which country was supplying the missiles.
On Monday, a senior Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander denied Tehran is sending missiles to Moscow. Brigadier Fazlollah Nozari was quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency as saying, “No missile was sent to Russia, and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare.”
At the same time, Ahmed Bakhshaish Ardestani, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, confirmed Iran is sending missiles and drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine.
In an interview with Iran Watch published on 9 September, Ardestani explained that “Iran exports drones and missiles to Russia,” while the “Russians cooperate with Iran to bypass the [US] sanctions. We import many of our goods from Russia.”
The Iranian MP’s comments came amid reports from western and US intelligence officials that Iran had recently transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine.