G7 condemns Iran's ballistic missile supplies to Russia

Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have condemned Iran's supply of ballistic missiles to Russia in the strongest terms.

Source: a statement following the ministerial meeting in Rome, posted on the website of the Italian Foreign Ministry

Quote: "Iran must immediately cease all support to Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable war against Ukraine and halt such transfers of ballistic missiles, UAVs and related technology, which constitute a direct threat to the Ukrainian people as well as European and international security more broadly.

Russia has used Iranian weaponry such as UAVs to kill Ukrainian civilians and strike their critical infrastructure. Russia’s aggression constitutes a flagrant violation of international law including the UN Charter."

Details: The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Japan, with EU High Representative Josep Borrell also joining.

The G7 representatives stated that they remained steadfast in their commitment to hold Iran accountable for its "unacceptable support for Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine that further undermines global security".

The ministers noted that, in line with previous statements on this issue, they are responding with "new and significant measures". The statement states that the evidence that Tehran continues to transfer weapons to Moscow, despite repeated international calls to stop it, is "a further escalation of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine".

Background:

• On 5 and 6 September, Western media reported that Iran had delivered short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. Some sources said more than 200 missiles had been sent.
• Reuters, the first to report that Iran was preparing to supply ballistic missiles to Russia, said it could be sending Fath-360s, a system that launches ballistic missiles with a 150-kg warhead with a maximum effective range of 120 km.
• The White House National Security Council said any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would be a "dramatic escalation".
• Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, admitted that Iranian ballistic missiles had been sent to Russia, which uses them to attack Ukraine.

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