Iran Sent Short-Range Missiles to Russia, U.S. and European Officials Say

Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, according to U.S. and European officials, despite sharp warnings from Washington and its allies not to provide those precise armaments to Moscow to use against targets in Ukraine.

The new missiles are expected to help Russia further its efforts to destroy Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, which President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said this week now involved 4,000 bombs a month across the country.

The U.S. and European officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, confirmed that after months of warnings about sanctions, Iran has shipped several hundred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. The delivery was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

Iran denied providing the weapons in a statement released on Friday by its permanent mission to the United Nations and said its position on the war in Ukraine was 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,” the statement said. “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 Group of 7 nations warned in March that they would impose coordinated sanctions on Iran if it carried out the missile transfer, a warning that was repeated at a NATO summit meeting in Washington in July. On Friday, a spokesman for the National Security Council said that the United States was “alarmed” by reports of a missile transfer and was prepared to respond with “significant consequences.”