‘A threat to all of Europe’: Iran is supplying Russia with ballistic missiles, says US secretary of state
Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia and the Kremlin “will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine”, the US secretary of state has said.
Speaking during a visit to the UK, Antony Blinken said the development was “a threat to all of Europe” and showed how Iran’s “destabilising influence reaches far beyond the Middle East”.
He told a news conference: “Dozens of Russian military personnel have been trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles.
“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians.
“Russia has an array of its own ballistic missiles, but the supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the supply of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia is “definitely a significant escalation” and said the UK is “coordinating”.
However, when asked if he would approve Ukraine using the Storm Shadow long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, Mr Lammy said he would not comment on “operational issues”.
The Fath-360 ballistic missile has a maximum range of 75 miles. File pic: Fars Media
The US will be announcing further sanctions on Iran later on Tuesday, Mr Blinken said, including further measures against Iran Air.
He said other countries are also expected to announce fresh sanctions.
However, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff said imposing sanctions on Iran for supplying Moscow with ballistic missiles was not enough, and allies should allow Kyiv to carry out strikes deep into Russia using Western weapons.
“We also need permission to use Western weapons against military targets on the territory of the Russian Federation, deliveries of longer-range missiles, and strengthening our air defences,” the official, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram.
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The politicians reiterated the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries
Mr Lammy and Mr Blinken revealed they will be travelling together to Kyiv later this week, which Mr Lammy said is the “first joint visit of this kind for well over a decade”.
Mr Blinken said Russia and Iran’s relationship is a “two-way street”, with the Kremlin sharing technology with Iran, including on nuclear issues and space information.
“So, as Iran’s destabilising activity spread, so does Russia, sowing even greater insecurity in their regions and around the world,” he said.
He added the US has been sharing intelligence behind the discovery with allies and partners “and working together to ensure that there will be significant economic consequences for Tehran’s actions”.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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