russia postpones purchase of iranian missiles for fear of supplying long-range weapons to ukraine

The Kremlin has not yet decided to purchase ballistic missiles from Iran because of fears that Western countries will respond by providing Ukraine with long-range missiles.

Source. This was reported by the Financial Times with reference to Western officials.

Details. Tehran is open to expanding military cooperation with Moscow, but the Russian government has so far refrained from buying Iranian long-range supersonic missiles, FT sources say.

According to them, in exchange for the missiles, Iran could receive modern Russian weapons, but the negotiations have reached a deadlock, partly because both sides fear the potential consequences of such a deal.

One of the significant factors that influenced this decision was the threat of the United States providing Kyiv with ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles with a range of about 300 km, which could hit targets deep in Russia, the newspaper writes, citing estimates by NATO member states.

Western countries also warn Iran of the consequences of cooperation with Russia.

"We will continue to send signals to Iran about the dangers of helping Russia with material support for its attacks and war in Ukraine," the FT quoted US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith as saying.

Ali Vaez, an Iran expert at the Crisis Group think tank, also believes that threats from Western countries could have influenced the negotiations.

"The Europeans told them that the consequences would be very serious. The United States also drew a red line," Vaez explained.

At the same time, according to military analysts, public warnings from Western countries to Iran will have limited impact, as Iran is already under sanctions, the FT writes. The prospects for expanding cooperation between Moscow and Tehran are also evidenced by the numerous visits of high-ranking officials to the Islamic Republic, the newspaper notes.