US says Russia received missiles from Iran, piles on sanctions

LONDON/WASHINGTON — Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran for its war in Ukraine, the United States said on Tuesday as it imposed fresh sanctions on ships and companies it said were involved in supplying Moscow with Iranian weapons.

At a news conference in London ahead of a visit to Kyiv he and Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy will make, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had privately warned Iran that providing ballistic missiles to Russia would be “a dramatic escalation.”

“Russia has now received shipments with these ballistic missiles, and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukraine,” Blinken said, citing intelligence that he said has been shared with U.S. allies and partners around the world.

The U.S. later identified nine Russian-flagged vessels it said were involved in the delivery of weapons from Iran to Russia, designating them as “blocked property” under Washington’s sanctions regime, according to the Treasury Department’s website.

It also imposed additional measures on previously sanctioned airline Iran Air, as well as companies and individuals involved in the two countries’ military cooperation, the department said in a statement.

Blinken said Iran has trained dozens of Russian military personnel to use its Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles (121 km).

Russian defense ministry representatives are believed to have signed a contract in December with Iranian officials for the Fath-360 and another Iranian ballistic missile system, Reuters reported last month.

Iran has previously supplied Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine, but has denied that it is supplying Russia with ballistic missiles. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani on Tuesday said on X that Iran views the reports as “ugly propaganda” to conceal Western military support to Israel.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday declined to confirm the reports but told reporters Russia was cooperating with Iran including on “the most sensitive” areas.

After 2-1/2 years of war, Ukrainian forces now find themselves stretched, fending off a steady Russian advance in Ukraine’s east. Last month Kyiv sent troops into Russia on their first large-scale cross-border incursion.

The Iranian missiles can be used on closer targets, allowing Russia to use more of its own arsenal for targets that are further from the front line, Blinken said.

Russia, which previously signed up to United Nations restrictions on Iran, was also sharing technology sought by Tehran, he added. “This is a two-way street, including on nuclear issues as well as some space information,” Blinken said.