Iran denies reports of missile transfer to Russia

DUBAI (Reuters) -A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander denied reports that Iran was transferring missiles to Russia, Iranian media said on Monday, amid concern in the West that they could be deployed in the war in Ukraine.

CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported last week, citing unidentified sources, that Iran had transferred short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.

Brigadier Fazlollah Nozari, deputy commander of the Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, was quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency as saying: “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare.”

“Iran does not support any of the parties to the Ukraine-Russia conflict,” Nozari said.

The European Union, by contrast, on Monday described the information in the media reports as credible.

“We are aware of the credible information provided by allies on the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia,” EU foreign affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said in an email.

“We are looking further into it with our Member States and if confirmed, this delivery would represent a substantive material escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said.

EU leaders had previously made clear they would “respond swiftly and in coordination with international partners, including with new and significant restrictive measures against Iran” to such a step, Stano added.

Asked about the reports on Monday, the Kremlin said that Iran is Russia’s partner and that the two countries were developing dialogue in all areas.

Ukraine said last week that deepening military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow was a threat to Ukraine, Europe and the Middle East, and called on the international community to increase pressure on Iran and Russia.

Any Iranian transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia would mark a sharp escalation in the Ukraine war, the United States said on Friday.

That language was echoed on Monday by a NATO spokesperson, who said the Western military alliance was aware of the media reports but would not be drawn on whether they were accurate.

“As Allies have stated previously, any transfer of ballistic missiles and related technology by Iran to Russia would represent a substantial escalation,” the spokesperson said.

Tehran and Moscow have drawn closer since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, with Iran supplying its Shahed drones to Russia’s military.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom and Andrew Gray in Brussels; Editing by Michael Georgy, Angus MacSwan and Ros Russell)