London — The United States and Great Britain have formally accused Iran The United States said Tuesday it would announce sanctions against Russia, which it says is being used in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Both allies said they would take steps to punish those involved. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London, said sanctions would be announced later Tuesday.
“Russia has now received deliveries of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them in the coming weeks in Ukraine, against the Ukrainians,” Blinken said. “The Iranian missile supply allows Russia to use more of its arsenal against targets further away from the front lines.”
“For its part, Russia shares technology that Iran seeks – it’s a two-way street – including on nuclear issues, as well as some space information,” Blinken said, adding that among the new sanctions coming from the United States would be additional measures targeting Iran Air, the Islamic Republic’s flagship carrier.
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The British government quickly announced its own new wave of sanctions, including seven new designations under its existing sanctions regime against Iran and three new measures against Russia.
Blinken and Lammy also said they would make a joint visit to Ukraine on Wednesday, where they will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials to discuss bolstering the country’s defenses amid increasingly urgent demands from Kiev for more and longer-range firepower — and for permission to use U.S. weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory.
The Kremlin is trying to repel Ukraine’s surprise offensive, which has seen Zelensky’s forces seize several hundred square kilometers of territory in Russia’s Kursk region. But Russia is also on the offensive, with its forces continuing to gain ground along the long front line that stretches nearly 960 kilometers across the eastern Donbass region.
The Iranian missile accusations could encourage Zelensky to further increase pressure on the United States and other allies to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep into Russian territory and to strike sites from which Moscow launches its relentless airstrikes. President Biden has authorized Ukraine to fire U.S.-supplied missiles across the border into Russia in self-defense, but has largely limited the distance out of fear of further escalation of the conflict.
That hasn’t stopped Ukraine from using its own weapons to strike targets deeper inside Russia, including a massive wave of explosive drones launched Tuesday at several regions, including Moscow.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his opening remarks at a Ukrainian security conference last week in Germany, which Zelenskyy attended, said it was a “critical moment” in the war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
As CBS News national security correspondent Charlie D’Agata reported, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein Air Base came just days after Zelenskyy’s country suffered its worst attack of the year, when two ballistic missiles were fired at it. Missiles hit military academykilling dozens of people and injuring more than 170 others.
Lammy called Iranian missile transfers to Russia “a worrying trend that we’re seeing. It’s certainly a significant escalation.”
Iran has denied supplying Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine.
“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict – which leads to increased human losses, destruction of infrastructure and a move away from ceasefire negotiations – to be inhumane,” according to a recent statement by the Iranian mission to the United Nations.
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Rumors of the alleged transfers began circulating over the weekend. According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, U.S. intelligence officials said they were underway. The United States and its allies have been warning Iran for months about transferring ballistic missiles to Russia.
CIA Director William Burns, who was in London on Saturday for a joint appearance with his British intelligence counterpart, warned of the rise and fall in hacking cases. “Disturbing” defense relations involving Russia, ChinaIran and North Koreawhich he says threatens both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East.
The White House has repeatedly declassified and released intelligence findings that show North Korea sent Iran also supplies Moscow with attack drones and has helped the Kremlin build a drone manufacturing plant.
China has refrained from supplying arms to Russia, but it has Increased sales in Russia Moscow has also continued to purchase significant quantities of Russian energy products, helping to fund its war efforts, according to U.S. officials.
Mr Biden is due to host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for talks at the White House on Friday, with support for Ukraine’s defence on the agenda.
and Tucker Reals contributed to this report.
