The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

The United States has informed allies that it believes Iran has transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter.

They did not offer any details about how many weapons have been delivered or when the transfers may have occurred, but they confirmed the U.S. intelligence finding. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that has not been publicly disclosed.

The White House declined to confirm the weapons transfer but reiterated its concern that Iran is deepening its support of Russia. The White House has been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.

    • @tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
      7•2 months ago

      My assumption is that given that Iran is doing this, not Russia, it’d be more likely for a response to be against Iran. Russia isn’t really the one escalating – they’ve already been firing all the ballistic missiles that they can get their hands on at Ukraine and obviously would accept missiles if they show up at their door. It’s Iran who is escalating.

      We also explicitly stated that we would act if Iran did this.

      https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4825856-us-threatens-swift-and-severe-response-if-iran-sends-ballistic-missiles-to-russia/

      US threatens ‘swift and severe’ response if Iran sends ballistic missiles to Russia

      “As our partners have made clear … we are prepared to deliver together a swift and severe response if Iran were to move forward of the transfer of ballistic missiles, which would in our view represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” he continued.