US warns of Iranian ballistic missile transfer to Russia, calling it 'dramatic escalation’ of Ukrainian conflict

The Iranian regime has delivered ballistic missiles to Russia, despite warnings by Western countries not to do so, according to reports in The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. 

The WSJ said the Iranian shipment contains several hundred short-range ballistic missiles with a range of around 500 miles. Delivery of the shipment would be a significant development as Russia has increased the number of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure over the last couple of weeks. 

This move comes soon after a Reuters report in August stating that Russia was expecting an imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 satellite-guided short-range ballistic missiles from Iran. 

U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Sean Savett said, “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.” 

“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,” Savett continued. “This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran’s destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world.” 

Iran’s Mission to the United Nations denied the delivery of missiles to Russia.

“Iran's position regarding the Ukraine conflict has not altered. The provision of military support to any party involved in the conflict, which results in increased casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a setback in ceasefire negotiations, is deemed inhumane by Iran,” the statement read. 

“Iran not only refrains from participating in such actions but also calls on other nations to halt the supply of weapons to the conflicting parties.” 

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said: “Iran has never been part of the conflict and its continuation.” 

“As it has been emphasized repeatedly, the Islamic Republic of Iran, while opposing the war, supports a political solution to resolve differences between Russia and Ukraine to bring an end to the conflict,” he added. 

Despite these claims, Iran has been supplying drones to Russia since the beginning of the conflict, and the two countries have held high-level meetings to strengthen their military, political and economic cooperation.

In March, the Group of Seven (G7) warned they would impose coordinated sanctions on Iran if it proceeded with a missile transfer to Russia. This warning was repeated at the NATO summit in Washington D.C. in July. 

However, it is unclear what actions the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden might take. While Biden has repeatedly warned the Iranian regime not to escalate the conflict in the Middle East, he has also refused to take any punitive steps against Iran for ignoring those warnings. 

Biden has also refused to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of longer-range weapons in its war against Russia. Until now, Ukraine has been limited in its ability to strike Russian airfields deeper in the country from which long-range Russian missiles are launched.