Iran rejects claims of ballistic missiles transfer to Russia
Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in a statement denied the allegation of transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia, saying, “Iran’s position vis-à-vis the Ukraine conflict remains unchanged.”
“Iran’s position vis-à-vis the Ukraine conflict remains unchanged. 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 cease-fire negotiations – to be inhumane. 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,” the statement said.
The mission’s reaction followed a report by the Wall Street Journal which has claimed Iran has delivered short-range missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine.
Back in August, Reuters also reported that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine.
“We have been warning of the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and are alarmed by these reports,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.
“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Iran on Wednesday blamed the US and its allies for the continuation of the war in Ukraine.
“The United States and its allies cannot deny the undeniable fact that sending advanced Western weapons, especially from the United States, has prolonged the war in Ukraine and harmed civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani said.
In a letter sent to the UN chief and the Security Council’s president, Iravani also rejected the “baseless and misleading” accusations of the United States, Britain and France regarding Tehran’s role in Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
He said Iran “categorically rejects” any allegations suggesting its involvement in the sale, export, or transfer of arms in violation of its international commitments to Russia as “misleading, completely unfounded.”
Tehran has repeatedly dismissed Western allegations of its involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Iran has called for a cease-fire, blaming the lingering conflict on Western arms supplies to Kiev.
Russia launched what it called a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 partly to prevent NATO’s eastward expansion after warning that the US-led military alliance was following an “aggressive line” against Moscow.