State Department: transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia threatens international security

The United States is “incredibly alarmed” by reports that Tehran has sent hundreds of short-range Fatah-360 ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its military aggression against Ukraine. The very fact of such shipments is a dramatic escalation of Iranian support for Moscow's actions, State Department spokesman Vedanta Patel said, Voice of America reported.

According to Vedanta Patel, a State Department spokesman, “Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation of Iranian support for the war of aggression that Russia is waging against Ukraine.”

“We are incredibly alarmed by these reports ... Our G7 and NATO partners have made clear that we are prepared for significant consequences,” Patel said, noting ‘growing concerns about the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion’ of Ukraine.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian, according to the State Department spokesman, “publicly states that improving his country's weakening economy depends on improving international relations and Iran's standing in the world. At the same time, however, you can't have it both ways, because...the transfer of missiles generally threatens international security and international order,” so the U.S. will continue to ”judge Iran by its actions.”

Patel emphasized that support for Ukraine will be a major topic of conversation during Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to London. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will hold talks with Blinken in London on Tuesday.

“I'm not going to speculate about potential actions that the United States may or may not take [regarding Tehran's actions]. Let me just say that we have been clear and consistent in expressing our support for Ukraine and making sure that it has what it needs to defend itself and protect itself from attack, and we will continue to discuss what it takes for our Ukrainian partners to do that,” Patel added.

Reprinted from https://news.am/