The U.S. fears Iran is preparing to provide Russia with advanced short-range ballistic missiles for its military campaign in Ukraine, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Iran has already provided Russia with armed drones, guided aerial bombs, and artillery shells, U.S. officials said. But U.S. concern that the military cooperation between the nations may further expand grew when Iran showed its Ababil and Fateh-110 missiles to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu when he visited Tehran in September.
“We are therefore concerned that Iran is considering providing Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine,” a spokesman for the National Security Council said.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin declined to comment on U.S. administration reports that Iran is allegedly exploring the possibility of providing Russia with advanced short-range ballistic missiles.
“I don’t think this should be commented on in any way,” Russia’s presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS. “We are developing relations with Iran, including in the field of military-technical cooperation. But we do not comment on this information.”
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led the Kremlin to seek out new arms suppliers. Among those is North Korea, which has been providing artillery shells to Moscow, according to U.S. and South Korea officials.
But Iran has been an increasingly important supplier and has also benefited from the relationship. Russia has been helping Iran improve its satellite collection capabilities and is offering to help Tehran on missiles, air defense and military electronics, the National Security Council spokesman said.
Iranian officials have said that Tehran plans to buy Su-35 fighters from Russia, but those planes have yet to be delivered. Iran also wants to buy other military hardware, including radars and attack helicopters.
The ties between Moscow and Tehran appear to be tightening in some unusual ways as well. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary organization, was planning to provide the SA-22 air defense system to Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia backed by Iran, according to U.S. officials familiar with intelligence.
