War in Ukraine: Iran denies reports of missile transfer to Russia

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00:00A red line in danger of being crossed.

00:03On Monday, Kiev summoned a senior Iranian diplomat, warning of devastating consequences

00:08for bilateral relations after recent reports Tehran had supplied Russia with ballistic

00:12missiles.

00:14Iran had denied the claims, calling them psychological warfare.

00:18We strongly reject allegations about Iran's role in sending weapons to one side of the

00:22war and we view these allegations as politically motivated by some parties.

00:28Tehran said it had played no part in the war, despite thousands of Iranian drones

00:32being used by Russia to continually pummel Ukraine.

00:36The European Union, by contrast, described the latest information as credible, warning

00:40of new sanctions which would be swift and restrictive against the Islamic Republic.

00:45Washington also suggested severe repercussions.

00:47Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation

00:54in Iran's support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

00:59When questioned by reporters, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby

01:03was however unable to confirm whether a transfer had in fact happened.

01:07That language was echoed by NATO.

01:10The story then took yet another turn on Monday, as the Kremlin itself stopped short of denying

01:14the allegations.

01:16We saw this report on Iran supplying missiles to Russia.

01:20This kind of information is not always true.

01:22Iran is our important partner.

01:25Should these latest claims prove true, they could have important implications on the battlefield.

01:30Ukraine has had limited success against Russian ballistic missiles, with only Patriot air

01:34defence systems able to cope with their speed and size.

01:38But Kiev has few of them, leading to increased calls for ally support from President Volodymyr

01:42Zelensky.

01:44For Iran, meanwhile, new sanctions could wind back some hard-earned relief Tehran has won

01:48since the 2015 nuclear deal, as Western pressure mounts on Massoud Bezeshkan and his new government.

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