Kremlin denies reports of Iran allegedly sending short-range missiles to Russia

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Monday denied media reports claiming that Iran has allegedly sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.

Citing unnamed US and European officials, a report by the Wall Street Journal on Friday claimed that Iran has delivered short-range ballistic missiles to the country despite Western warnings not to provide such arms to Moscow.

CNN also published a similar report on the same day, with National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett telling the US-based news channel that “any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support” for the conflict in Ukraine.

“We have seen this report. Not every time such information is true,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a press briefing in Moscow.

Describing Iran as an important partner of Russia, Peskov said that the cooperation and dialogue between the two countries are developing in all possible areas, including the “most sensitive ones.”

Iran and Russia are close allies who have bolstered bilateral ties in recent years amid growing tensions with the US.

- Nord Stream

Peskov also commented on remarks made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an interview with local media last week, expressing that Moscow agreed with him on the need to investigate the Nord Stream sabotage attack.

During the interview with German public broadcaster ZDF on Sunday, Scholz said that Berlin is committed to ensuring nothing is concealed regarding the incident and that everything is done to punish those responsible for the blasts.

“We absolutely agree that the terrorist act and sabotage against Nord Stream must be thoroughly investigated, despite the desperate attempts of some countries involved in this story to hush it up. Under no circumstances can this be allowed to happen,” Peskov said.

In September 2022, underwater explosions targeted the Nord Stream 1 and the newly built Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which delivered Russian natural gas to Germany and the European region through the Baltic Sea.

Moscow has accused the West, particularly the US, of being directly involved in the blasts and has called for a UN-led international investigation into the likely sabotage, but the request was rejected.

Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have initiated separate investigations into the incident. However, the latter two countries announced the conclusion of their investigations in February.

Last month, German media reported that an arrest warrant was issued in June for a Ukrainian driving instructor residing in Poland. However, he could not be arrested as Polish authorities were reluctant to cooperate with Berlin.

Kyiv has denied any involvement in the incident.