'Incredibly Alarmed': U.S. Warns Of ‘Significant Consequences’ If Iran Supplying Missiles To Russia

The United States said on Monday that it's 'incredibly alarmed' by the reports about potential transfer of ballistic rockets from Iran to Russia and if true, it would be ‘dramatic escalation,’ as the Western allies are 'prepared' to take action, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. We have been clear, our partners throughout the G7 and the NATO summits have been clear that we’re prepared to deliver significant consequences," State Department's Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

The move came as the EU said Monday morning that allies had shared “credible” intelligence about Tehran's transferring short-range missile to Russia. Several media outlets cited Iranian officials confirming the delivery of FATH-360 missiles.

"I’m not going to get ahead of that or preview them from here, but... I have talked about the increasing concern about the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion.  It is something that we are continuing to pay close attention to," Patel said.

He went on to add, "[Iranian] President Pezeshkian continues to say publicly that improving his country’s failing economy depends on improving his foreign relations and Iran’s standing in the world.  At the same time, though, you cannot have it both ways, as such a reported missile transfer would basically threaten international safety and the international order.  So we will continue to judge Iran by its actions."

In Kyiv, officials issued a warning on Monday over reports over delivery of Iran's missiles to Moscow, stating that Ukraine should be permitted to target missile storage facilities within Russia.

Asked whether the U.S. was prepared to lift restrictions on Ukraine's usage of American weapons inside Russia, Patel said there was no policy change.

"I’m just not going to speculate on potential actions the United States may or may not take. Let me just say we have been clear and consistent about our support for Ukraine and making sure that they have what they need to defend themselves and defend themselves from attacks just immediately across the border as well, and we’ll continue to take a look at what is required so that our partners in Ukraine can do that," Patel concluded.