US Sanctions Iran for Providing Hundreds of Missiles to Russia

A missile launched from Russia's Belgorod region flies toward Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on Jan. 7, 2023. Vadym Bielikov/AFP via Getty Images

Iran is transferring short-range ballistic missiles to Russia after training Moscow’s troops on the system’s use, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

An indeterminate number of the Fath-360 missiles have already been transferred from Iran to Russia, Kirby told reporters during a press call on Sep. 10.

“These are close-range ballistic missiles with a range of about 75 miles,” he said.

“We fully expect that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will use them again inside Ukraine.”

The Biden administration has warned for several months about the possibility that such a transfer will occur.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in August that such an arms transfer would present a “dramatic escalation” in Iranian support for the war in Ukraine and warrant a “swift and severe” response from the United States.

The State Department announced new sanctions on Sept. 10 against Iran Air, Vafa Wholesale, and Sea River Service for their role in transferring drones, missiles, munitions, and other equipment to Russia for use in Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Those sanctions will augment similar actions being announced the same day by France, Germany, and the UK, Kirby said, which will terminate some of Europe’s “lucrative commercial ties with Iran.”

Likewise, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced sanctions against 10 individuals and six entities for facilitating the transfer of drones and missiles from Iran to Russia.

Some of those included are officials in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization.

A statement by the Treasury Department said that the transfer was part of “a contract for the supply of hundreds of missiles” that involved travel by Russian military personnel to Iran to receive training on the systems.

“Iran has opted to intensify its involvement in Russia’s illegal war, and the United States, along with our partners, will continue to stand with Ukraine,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said.

Iranian—Russian strategic cooperation has been slowly building over the years but started to peak after U.S.-led economic actions against Moscow went into effect in retribution for the latter’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Kirby said last year that Iran had promised to send hundreds of one-way attack drones and potentially other weapons systems to Russia in exchange for advanced military systems from Moscow including fighter jets and combat helicopters.

“Russia’s support for Iran is destabilizing as well, as Moscow is sharing technology that Iran needs, including on nuclear issues,” Kirby added on Sept. 10.

Kirby said that a key concern was the possibility that Russia could use the short-range Iranian missiles on the front lines in Ukraine, which would free up Moscow’s other, longer-range missiles for attacks deeper into Ukrainian territory.

“Moscow possesses an array of its own ballistic missiles, of course, but the supply of these Iranian missiles ... could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the front line while employing Iranian warheads for closer range targets,” Kirby said.

“What’s most relevant is that now Russia will have available to it additional ballistic missiles to rain down on the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian infrastructure.”