Iran defends missile shipments to Russia amid sanctions concerns
An Iranian lawmaker has admitted that his country has delivered short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. "We have to barter to meet our needs, including the import of soybeans and wheat," he defended.
Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, confirmed that Russia had received Iranian ballistic missiles.
"We need to barter to get what we need, including soybeans and wheat. Part of the exchange involves sending missiles, and another part involves delivering military drones to Russia," Ardestani said in an interview with the Iranian newspaper "Didban Iran."
"It cannot be worse"
The MP was asked if supporting Russia in its war in Ukraine could lead to more sanctions on Iran.
"It cannot be worse than it is. We give missiles to Hezbollah, Hamas, and Hashd al-Shaabi (a Shia militia operating in Iraq - ed.), so why not give them to Russia?" he asked.
"We sell weapons and get dollars. We bypass sanctions thanks to our partnership with Russia. We import soybeans, corn and other goods from Russia. Europeans sell weapons to Ukraine. NATO entered Ukraine, so why don’t we support our ally by sending missiles and drones to Russia?" Ardestani questioned.
Ukrainian foreign ministry concerned
The "Wall Street Journal," citing sources among American and European officials, reported that Iran had delivered short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. According to Reuters, these are Fath-360 systems.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over these reports and called on the international community to put pressure on Tehran.
"Iran must completely and finally stop supplying weapons to Russia in order to prove by actions, not words, the sincerity of its political leadership's statements about its non-involvement in fuelling the Russian military killing machine," the statement said.
