Blinken: Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia

LONDON — Iran has supplied ballistic missiles to Russia as part of the escalating conflict in Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday, as he promised fresh U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

Speaking on a visit to London, Blinken said: “Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians.”

He added: “The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line, while dedicating the new missiles it’s receiving from Iran for closer range targets.

“This development and the growing cooperation between Russia and Iran threatens European security.”

At a joint press conference with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, the U.S. diplomatic chief told journalists: “We’ve warned Iran privately that taking this step would constitute a dramatic escalation.”

And he promised that the U.S. would be “announcing further sanctions on Iran later today, including additional measures on Iran Air,” a major Iranian airline and a lever for fresh economic pressure on the country. “We expect allies and partners will be announcing their own new measures on Iran as well,” he added.

The pair confirmed they will make a joint visit to Kyiv later this week at what they described as a “critical moment” for Ukraine.

But they declined to commit publicly to supplying Ukraine with long-range capability in its pushback against Russia’s invasion — while signaling they were open to further discussions on the subject.

“One of the purposes of the trip that we’ll be taking together is to hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership, including … President Zelenskyy about exactly how the Ukrainians see their needs in this moment, toward what objectives — and what we can do to support those needs,” he said.

Blinken was in London as the two countries agreed to open a new U.S.-U.K. “strategic dialogue.” He will meet newly-elected Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer later.

Starmer will travel to Washington D.C. later this week where he will meet Joe Biden. But he is not expected to sit down with either U.S. presidential candidate.

Noah Keate contributed reporting.