According to IRNA, General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman told reporters in Washington on Tuesday local time that the US confirms Iran had transferred shipments of Fatah-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.
Ryder also claimed that, based on a US assessment, these missiles can be used against Ukraine within the next few months.
The reports of the transfer of ballistic missile shipments from Iran to Russia are a worrying development and a threat to the security of Europe, he said, adding that Moscow-Tehran cooperation shows the expansion of Iran's destabilizing influence beyond the Middle East.
The Pentagon claim followed a U-turn by the US National Security Council spokesman on reports recently published by CNN and Wall Street Journal.
John Kirby, who had previously rejected these reports, also claimed on Tuesday local time that Russia had received Iran's Fatah-360 ballistic missiles and dozens of Russian forces were trained in Iran to use them.
Moscow has its own ballistic missiles, but the supply of Iranian missiles, which have a maximum range of about 75 miles, could allow Russia to use them for closer targets, Kirby theorized and repeated the Pentagon’s claim about Iran’s threat to the security of Europe.
Earlier this week, the White House, the US State Department and the CIA as well as the UN denied any transfer of Iranian missiles to Russia.
Iran has repeatedly denied the accusations leveled by the media and some western countries about supplying Russia with short-range ballistic missiles.
Last week, Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN dismissed reports and said” “Iran’s position vis-à-vis the Ukraine conflict remains unchanged. Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict—which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations—to be inhumane.”
Separately, Iran’s ambassador to the UN categorically rejected “baseless and misleading” such allegations in identical letters to the UN chief and the Security Council president.
Amir-Saeid Iravani in his letter called it "ridiculous" that the countries that are directly involved in the Ukraine conflict and have significantly contributed to its escalation through providing advanced weapons, had brazenly made such baseless claims against Iran.
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