Through recent statements made by Pentagon officials after last Tuesday’s briefing, the US has expressed its concern over Iran’s delivery of new missiles to equip the Russian Armed Forces. These would be Fath 360 missiles, which would allow Russia to sustain its own stockpile of long-range systems, whose reliability and firepower would be greater than those of Iranian weapons.
According to Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Pat Ryder, the delivered weapons could be used in the coming weeks, although the potential quantities transferred have not been specified. It is worth noting that the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a report this week detailing how Russia allegedly signed a contract for “hundreds of missiles” at the end of 2023, with the initial batches being those recently mentioned by the Pentagon.
In line with this, the U.S. Treasury indicated that, in recent months, various Russian artillery units were observed in Iran receiving training on the aforementioned systems. While their use in the battlefield has not yet been observed, this confirmed Western allies’ suspicions, leading to the creation of a new sanctions package targeting Iranian shipping and airline companies involved in the transport of the missiles.
It is useful to recall that this is not the first time Iran has contributed to the Russian war effort since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine, with frequent shipments of various types of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), among other weapon systems. Furthermore, it should be noted that Russia’s dependence on its partners’ assistance has other concerning consequences for the U.S., as Russia repays these supplies by sharing key information for the development of space and nuclear technology. In the words of Anthony Blinken, the current U.S. Secretary of State, this constitutes “a two-way street.”
On the other hand, it is important to remember that U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III met with European counterparts last week to discuss increasing the shipment of air defense systems to Ukraine to address this issue. The urgency has been particularly felt in recent days, during which Russia has conducted two of the largest missile attacks since the beginning of the war, causing significant damage to military and civilian targets.
In response, Ukraine sought to remove the remaining restrictions on the use of long-range systems supplied by the West, which has been one of President Zelensky’s priorities; he attended this meeting unexpectedly. The U.S. response, at least for now, remains negative based on two main points: the persistent fear of a potential escalation of the war due to the use of these weapons and a new assessment by U.S. intelligence observing the relocation of Russian air assets out of the range of Ukrainian missiles.
Images used for illustrative purposes
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