Iran denies supplying ballistic missiles to Russia, reaffirms support for Ukraine's sovereignty

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has denied claims that Iran has supplied ballistic missiles to Russia, while affirming the legitimacy of Tehran’s military cooperation with Moscow.

Despite this, Araghchi emphasized Iran’s continued support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

Addressing criticism from Europe over Iran's provision of drones and other equipment to Russia for use in Ukraine, Araghchi stated: “They are not in any moral or political position to complain about our cooperation with Russia […] when at the same time they are selling themselves weapons, sophisticated weaponry to Israel to kill Palestinians.”

He stated that Iran remains willing to supply weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon if the group requests it, adding that Israel had agreed to a ceasefire because it was unable to “finish the job”.

Reflecting on the outcome of the Lebanon conflict, which many argue has weakened Iran, he said: “Why is Israel now ready for a ceasefire in Lebanon? Because they couldn’t finish the job, and they are not able to finish the job. Yes, Hezbollah has suffered, but it is mostly on its leadership and high level commanders, but the organization is intact.”

Araghchi dismissed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims that Israel accepted the Lebanon ceasefire partly to refocus on preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“A full-scale war with Iran and a ceasefire in Lebanon? It doesn’t sound logical or understandable,” he commented.

He warned that a full-scale war initiated by Israel against Iran would be catastrophic. “That doesn’t mean that we want war. Contrary to Israelis, we don’t want war, but we are fully prepared for that, and we are not scared of war. And if they want to try us, they can do that.”

Araghchi emphasized that it was up to Hezbollah to decide whether it would move its weapons north of the Litani River, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement with Israel. He also rejected the notion that Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy.

“Hezbollah and others are not our proxies,” he explained. “We only support them as our friends, so we have never dictated on them or any other resistance group in the region. They decide by themselves, and they implement their decisions by themselves.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev