Blinken says Russia got missiles from Iran, cooperation growing

PHOTO CAPTION: Iranian ballistic missiles are displayed during the ceremony of joining the Armed Forces, in Tehran, Iran, August 22, 2023. Iran's Presidency/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS

By Daphne Psaledakis

LONDON (Reuters) - Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and will likely use them in Ukraine within weeks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, warning that cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatens wider European security.

Blinken, speaking at a news conference in London ahead of a visit to Kyiv alongside Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, said Washington had privately warned Iran that providing ballistic missiles to Russia would "constitute a dramatic escalation" and said new sanctions would be imposed later on Tuesday.

"Russia has now received shipments with these ballistic missiles, and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukraine," Blinken said, citing intelligence that he said has been shared with U.S. allies and partners around the world.

The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line in Ukraine, Blinken said.

"This development and the growing cooperation between Russia and Iran threatens European security and demonstrates how Iran's destabilizing influence reaches far beyond the Middle East."

Russia was also sharing technology with Iran, including on nuclear issues, he added.

Additional U.S. sanctions on Iran will include the airline Iran Air, and other countries are also expected to announce new sanctions, Blinken said.



(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, William James, Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis; Editing by Andrew Heavens, William Maclean)