Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Monday it had summoned a senior Iranian diplomat to warn Tehran that if reports that Iran has supplied Russia with ballistic missiles are true, bilateral relations would suffer “devastating and irreversible consequences.” A Revolutionary Guard official denied the reports of the weapons shipment, calling them “psychological warfare.” A European Union spokesman called the information “credible.”
CNN and The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Iran had transferred Russia short-range ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a Telegram message that it had summoned Iranian Chargé d'Affaires Shahriar Amouzegar and warned him “in a strong tone” about the consequences for relations if the information about the missile shipment was confirmed.
Earlier, Brigadier Fazlollah Nozari, a senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, insisted that “no missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare.” “Iran does not support either side in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict,” he added.
In turn, European Union Foreign Affairs Spokesman Peter Stano said the Union “is aware of credible information provided by allies about deliveries.” He stressed that if this information is confirmed, “the delivery would mean a significant, material escalation of Iran's support for Russian aggression against Ukraine.”
Iran is accused of supplying ballistic missiles to RussiaABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/PAP/EPA
Mutual accusations of escalating the war
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov he said he had seen the reports, but not all the information was true. “Iran is our important partner, we are developing our trade and economic relations, developing cooperation and dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive ones,” he pointed out.
Ukrainian authorities said last week that deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow poses a threat to UkraineEurope and the Middle East. Kiev called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia.
Any transfer of missiles by Iran to Russia would mean a sharp escalation wars in Ukraine – they said on Friday United States. These concerns were confirmed by the spokesman NATO“As allies have stated previously, any transfer of ballistic missiles and related technology would constitute a significant escalation,” he added.
In turn, Moscow accused Kiev's allies of escalating the war by supplying Ukraine with weapons used in the recent attack on Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Main image source: ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH/PAP/EPA