Photo Released of Ship Suspected of Carrying Iranian Missiles for Russia at Port Near Iran

Simultaneously with the statement from the United States, Britain, and the European Union regarding the Islamic Republic's actions in equipping Russia with ballistic missiles produced by Iranian military industries, CNN reported, citing satellite images, that a Russian cargo ship suspected of carrying Iranian missiles has been intercepted. This cargo ship left a port in Iran in the Caspian Sea heading towards Russia last week. According to CNN, satellite images released by Maxar Technologies indicate that the ship "Port Olia 3," which departed from Amirabad on the Caspian Sea coast of Iran last week, was identified in the port of Astrakhan and had turned off its transponder. This ship is suspected of carrying ballistic missiles received from Iran. Hours after the U.S. Secretary of State's statement during his trip to London on Tuesday this week regarding the confirmation of Russia being equipped with ballistic missiles from Iran, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned four vessels belonging to Jamaluddin Amir Magomedovich (Amir Muhammadovich) Pashaev, owner of a network of Russian shipping companies, for aiding the transfer of "Iran's lethal assistance to Russia," along with 20 individuals and entities from the Islamic Republic of Iran. The "Port Olia 3" is one of the four vessels owned by Amir Magomedovich Pashaev that were sanctioned by the U.S. on Tuesday. The U.S. Treasury announced that the "Port Olia 3" loaded its first shipment of Iranian ballistic missiles for transfer to Russia in early September of this year. U.S. officials had previously told CNN that negotiations for Russia to receive missiles from Iran began during the visit of Sergei Shoigu, the then Russian Defense Minister, to Iran last year. Russia has been conducting a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine for two and a half years and has continued the war by occupying four provinces of that country. The U.S. and Britain are said to be "close to granting permission" to Ukraine to attack deep into Russia. Until recently, the Islamic Republic of Iran was officially under suspicion of having provided attack drones, including the "Shahed 136" model, to Russia, which were used to attack civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine beyond the battlefield. Tehran is also accused of training Russian forces for the use of drones in Iran and Russia and assisting in the construction of a drone parts manufacturing factory in Russia. In continuing its war in Ukraine, Russia is in need of weapons in the face of increased Western military supplies to Ukraine. It has been assessed that recent trips by the Russian President to several countries, including North Korea, were for this purpose. The ISW think tank in Washington had previously stated that Iran has used the ports of Anzali and Amirabad to transfer drones to Astrakhan in Russia, and the Russian ship "Port Olia 3" has frequently anchored at these two Iranian ports. While Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister, and Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Russian presidential office, separately denied the transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia on September 12, senior officials from the U.S., Britain, and the European Union condemned Iran for this cooperation with Russia in multiple statements this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday in London that the U.S. has "privately" warned Iran that such actions would escalate tensions. Mr. Blinken and his British counterpart, David Lammy, also discussed further humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine for self-defense against Russia with Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, during their joint trip to Kyiv on Wednesday. According to The Guardian, the joint trip of the U.S. and British foreign ministers reinforced the likelihood that these two countries would soon allow Ukraine to use the weapons received from them to attack deep into Russian territory, beyond defense within Ukraine. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office stated this week that his country must be able to attack Russian missile depots, which includes striking missile storage facilities that Russia receives from Iran. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry summoned Shahriar Amoozgar, the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Kyiv, this week to warn him that equipping Russia with missiles would have "destructive and irreparable consequences" for the relations between the two countries.