US says ‘dozens’ of Russian military personnel trained in Iran to use ballistic missiles

Washington says Iran’s “destabilizing influence reaches beyond the Middle East” and threatens more sanctions

September 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The White House has claimed that “dozens” of Russian military personnel have received training in Iran for the use of ballistic missiles allegedly delivered by Tehran to Moscow for use in the framework of the invasion of Ukraine, unleashed in February 2022, before adding that Russian forces could deploy this weaponry “in the coming weeks”, amid denials by the Russian and Iranian authorities of these accusations.

“Dozens of Russian military personnel have been trained in Iran to use the Fateh 360 short-range ballistic missile system,” White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said, adding that the use of the weapon “will lead to the deaths of even more Ukrainian civilians, particularly because of the way the missiles are used against civilian infrastructure.”

“Moscow has a battery of its own ballistic missiles, but the supply of these Iranian missiles, which have a maximum range of about 75 miles (around 120 kilometers), could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal against targets behind the front line while using Iranian weapons for closer targets,” he said.

“This is obviously very worrying and points to how this partnership threatens European security and illustrates that Iran’s destabilising influence extends far beyond the Middle East,” Kirby said, adding that “Russia’s support for Iran is also destabilising, as Moscow shares technology that Iran needs, including in the nuclear field.”

“We have been working with our allies to ensure that there are significant consequences to these actions,” he stressed, before elaborating on the “clear message” from the E3 –France, the United Kingdom and Germany– and from Washington that “if Iran continues to support the war in Ukraine, there will be significant economic costs.”

“Iran’s new president and foreign minister have repeatedly said they want to engage with Europe on sanctions relief, but destabilising actions like these are a slap in the face to that rhetoric and will hurt their own economy,” he concluded.

Russian authorities on Wednesday called “baseless” accusations that Iran had delivered ballistic missiles to Moscow for use in the invasion of Ukraine, while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani denounced “the dissemination of false and misleading information about the delivery of Iranian weapons to certain countries.”