TEHRAN – The European Union (UN) yesterday said its allies had shared intelligence that Iran had supplied Russia with ballistic missiles, and warned of new sanctions on Tehran if the deliveries were confirmed.

“We are aware of credible information provided by allies on the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.
“We are looking further into it with our member states and if confirmed, this delivery would represent a substantive material escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Stano added: “The EU leaders’ unanimous position has always been clear. The European Union will respond swiftly and in coordination with international partners, including with new and significant restrictive measures against Iran”.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the United States had briefed European allies that Iran has delivered short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.

The Kremlin did not issue a denial yesterday  when asked about the report that Iran had sent missiles.
“We have seen this report, it is not every time that this kind of information is true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“Iran is our important partner, we are developing our trade and economic relations, we are developing our cooperation and dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive
 areas.”

The West has been warning Tehran against sending Russia missiles for months, and the EU has already repeatedly hit Iran with sanctions for supplying drones to Moscow for the war in Ukraine.

The reported delivery of missiles to Russia comes as the Kremlin has once again stepped up its bombing campaign against Ukraine’s key infrastructure ahead of winter.
Faced with punishing Western sanctions, Moscow has turned to Iran and North Korea for weapons supplies to keep its war machine going in Ukraine. 

– Nampa/AFP