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By Tom O'Connor
Deputy Editor, National Security and Foreign Policy
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Iran has denied sending arms to Russia for use in the ongoing war in Ukraine after a report cited U.S. and European officials alleging that the Islamic Republic had provided Moscow with short-range ballistic missiles.
The report, which first appeared Friday in The Wall Street Journal, was said to be based on evidence provided by U.S. officials to European allies. President Joe Biden's administration had previously threatened Tehran with "a severe response" if it went through with transferring such weapons to Moscow after Reuters reported last month that Iran was allegedly considering planning to ship hundreds of Fath 360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
In a statement shared with Newsweek, however, the Iranian Mission to the United Nations stated that Iran had not provided weapons to either side of the conflict in Ukraine and called on other nations to cease doing so.
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"Iran's position vis-à-vis the Ukraine conflict remains unchanged," the Iranian Mission said. "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 ceasefire negotiations—to be inhumane."
The statement continued: "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."
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The Russian Embassy to the United States declined Newsweek's request for comment.
Reached for comment, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek that, "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."
"We and our partners have made clear both at the G7 and at the NATO summits this summer that together we are prepared to deliver significant consequences," the State Department spokesperson said. "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."
"This partnership threatens European security and illustrates how Iran's destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East and around the world," the spokesperson added.
The State Department spokesperson also called into question Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's stated efforts to improve Tehran's international ties, particularly with the West.
"Iranian President Pezeshkian continues to say publicly that improving his country's failing economy depends upon improving its foreign relations," the State Department spokesperson said. "At the same time, as this reported missile transfer illustrates, Iran keeps pushing the international community away by threatening them.
"We will continue to judge Iran's leadership by their actions, not their words," the State Department spokesperson added.
U.S. and European officials have previously accused Iran of providing Russia with vast quantities of drones, and the Russian military has frequently been observed using unmanned aerial vehicles bearing a close resemblance to Iran's Shahed line of loitering munitions, or "suicide drones."
The Ukrainian Armed Forces had announced earlier Friday that anti-aircraft gunners had downed a Shahed drone over the Kyiv region. Later, explosions were observed in Kyiv and Ternopil oblasts in reported Shahed attacks.
Iranian officials have previously acknowledged sending a limited number of drones to Russia months prior to the war but stated in the first the year of the conflict that no new deals had been reached.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and fellow NATO nations have provided extensive military support to Ukraine, including missile systems, tanks and multirole fighter jets that Russian officials have warned would only fuel the war and heighten the risk of an even larger confrontation.
In a call with his newly appointed Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken "underlined the enduring strength of the United States' partnership with Ukraine, including ongoing military, economic, and humanitarian support to sustain Ukraine's fight against Russia's aggression and speed the recovery of Ukraine's economy," according to a U.S. readout.
Tehran and Moscow have also shored up relations over the past decade, particularly through their shared goal of supporting government forces in Syria against rebel forces, some of which were backed by the U.S., as well as the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) throughout the country's ongoing civil war.
This relationship has continued since Russia launched a large-scale conflict against neighboring Ukraine in February 2022 following years of clashes between Ukrainian forces and separatist rebels aligned with Moscow. Iran has also sought to purchase Russian aircraft, particularly Sukhoi Su-35 jets, and has expressed interest in purchasing advanced air defense systems as well.
While Iran has invested heavily in expanding its domestically produced arsenal of offensive and defensive platforms, concerns over national security have risen since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. Iran has supported Hamas and a number of fellow Axis of Resistance factions waging operations against Israel, with which Iran engaged in an unprecedented direct exchange of strikes in April.
Iran has again vowed to conduct a direct attack on Israel following the unclaimed killing of Hamas Political Bureau head Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July. Israeli officials have also threatened military action against Iran, and some have called for a preemptive joint strike with support from the U.S.
Iran and Russia have been in talks for years over the signing of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty that would boost bilateral cooperation in a number of sectors, including defense. Discussions were said to be put on hold after the sudden death of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan.
Negotiations were expected to resume upon the conclusion of snap elections, which took place in July, delivering a victory to reformist current President Masoud Pezeshkian. Days after Haniyeh was assassinated in the wake of Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony, former Russian Defense Minister and now Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu traveled to Tehran last month to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Russia has also recently agreed to ramp up gas supplies to Iran, a development that Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday had no connection to developments in Ukraine.
Update 09/20/2024, 8:04 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comments from a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department.
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