KIEV, Sept 10 (Askume) – Kiev said on Tuesday it could cut ties with Tehran if Russia used Iranian-supplied ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine. It described any such supply of weapons as “unacceptable”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said,Russia received the missiles from Iran 2-1/2 years after the all-out attack . He said he expected Moscow to use the weapons in the coming weeks. Iran has denied providing the weapons .
Ukraine, already grappling with a rise in Russian missile and drone attacks, said if reports of missile supplies were confirmed, it would have devastating consequences for its bilateral relations with Iran.
Asked whether Kiev might sever ties with Tehran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Kheochi Tihay said: “I will not reveal the exact meaning of the devastating consequences right now so as not to weaken our diplomatic position, but I can say all options, including the one you mentioned, are being considered.”
Ukraine’s allies, including the United States, said the supplies would seriously escalate tensions and they would impose further sanctions on Iran.
Andrei Yermak, a senior official in Ukraine’s presidency, called such sanctions a “positive step” and said the sanctions themselves were not enough.
“We need authorization to use Western weapons to attack military targets on Russian territory, and we also need to be provided with long-range missiles and strengthen our air defense systems,” Yermak told XTV.
The Kremlin has not yet commented on Blinken’s remarks. It said on Monday that it was in talks with Iran in all areas .
Ukraine downgraded diplomatic ties with Iran in 2022 after Tehran decided to provide Russia with Shahed attack drones, which Moscow’s military has used for regular long-range strikes.
Iran’s most obvious military support to Moscow so far has been the supply of drones, which carry small payloads and are easier to shoot down because they fly at a fraction of the speed of ballistic missiles .
Askume reported in August that Russia expects to receive hundreds of Fateh-360 short-range ballistic missiles from Iran, and that dozens of Russian soldiers have been trained to launch these missiles.
