Iran's Foreign Ministry head assures Tehran not plan to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia - Borrell
Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has assured that the country has no intention of supplying its ballistic missiles to Russia. Earlier, reports emerged suggesting that Tehran might consider providing such weaponry to Moscow, states Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
In his comments to the media, the head of European diplomacy addressed concerns from some EU member states regarding the potential supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia.
"Just before entering the meeting, I sent a message to the new Iranian Minister [for Foreign Affairs, Seyed Abbas Araghchi] expressing my concerns," Borrell explained.
He added that he immediately received a response stating that this information is false.
When asked by journalists whether he really believed the Iranian official's denial of claims about providing drones and weapons to Russia, Borrell responded negatively: "No."
Borrell mentioned that there was a need to distinguish between drones and missiles when discussing Iran. He indicated that the concerns and suspicions were specifically about missiles. According to Borrell, the minister had stated that there was no substance to these concerns. He also noted that, from their side, they had no evidence supporting the existence of such issues.
The European diplomat further emphasized that the situation was genuinely one of caution concerning the potential for such an event and a warning. He clarified that this was specifically about the possible supply of missiles.
What preceded this
About a week ago, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell spoke with Iran's newly appointed Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, urging him to cease cooperation with Russia.
Earlier in August, Reuters reported that Iran might soon transfer short-range ballistic missiles, specifically Fath 360, to Russia. The article suggested that this could involve the delivery of hundreds of such missiles.
Additionally, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) recently reported that Russia is expanding its cooperation with Iran.
It has also been revealed that Iran has increased the production of ballistic missiles and drones following a cooperation agreement with Russia.
