LONDON — The United States and Britain formally accused Iran on Tuesday of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use in the war in Ukraine and will take measures to punish those involved.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London, said that sanctions would be announced later Tuesday.
“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukrainians,” Blinken said. “The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”
It comes as Blinken and Lammy are preparing to make a joint visit Wednesday to Ukraine, where they will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials to discuss bolstering the country’s defenses. The Kremlin is trying to repel Ukraine’s surprise offensive that has claimed hundreds of miles of territory in Russia’s Kursk region.
The accusations about Iranian missiles could embolden Zelenskyy to further ramp up pressure on the U.S. and other allies to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia and hit sites from which Moscow launches aerial attacks. President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defense but largely limited the distance over concerns about further escalating the conflict.
That has not stopped Ukraine from using its own weapons to hit targets deeper in Russia, launching on Tuesday one of the biggest drone attacks on Russian soil in the 2 1/2-year war that targeted multiple regions including Moscow.
Lammy called the Iranian missile transfers to Russia “a troubling pattern that we’re seeing. It is definitely a significant escalation.”
Iran has denied providing Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine.
“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,” according to a recent statement from Iran’s mission to the United Nations.
Word of the alleged transfers began to emerge over the weekend with reports that U.S. intelligence indicated they were underway, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. and its allies have been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.
CIA Director William Burns, who was in London on Saturday for a joint appearance with his British intelligence counterpart, warned of the growing and “troubling” defense relationship involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea that he said threatens both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East.
The White House has repeatedly declassified and publicized intelligence findings that show North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, while Iran also supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory.
China has held back from providing Russians with weaponry but has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry, according to U.S. officials.
Biden is set to host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks at the White House on Friday, with support for Ukraine’s defense on the agenda.