Russia to Provide Iran with Nuclear Knowledge in Exchange for Ballistic Missiles

The "secret cooperation" of Russia's nuclear information and technology with Iran, in exchange for Iran equipping Russia with Iranian ballistic missiles, has increasingly worried the United States and Britain. Bloomberg reported on Saturday, September 24, that Washington and London are concerned that Russia has provided Tehran with "nuclear knowledge" that could bring Tehran closer to the capability of building nuclear weapons. This news was also confirmed by the British newspaper The Guardian on the same day. Western officials familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the Kremlin's cooperation with Iran regarding the Islamic Republic's ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons has increased in recent months. According to these sources, who wished to remain anonymous, this development was discussed during the talks on Friday between the U.S. President and the British Prime Minister during Keir Starmer's visit to Washington and his discussions with Joe Biden, where the two leaders described the growing military relations between Iran and Russia as "worrisome." The Russian Foreign Ministry and Iran's representative office at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna did not respond to Bloomberg's request for comment. The foreign ministers of the G7 industrial countries issued a joint statement on Saturday, September 24, condemning Iran's export of ballistic missiles to Russia as an expansion of Tehran's military support for Moscow during the war in Ukraine, calling for an end to the supply of Iranian missiles to Russia. The G7 foreign ministers emphasized that the transfer of missiles, drones, and other military technologies from Iran to Russia poses a "direct threat" to the people of Ukraine and "endangers the security of Europe and the international community." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned last Tuesday during his visit to London and discussions with his British counterpart, David Lammy, that the cooperation between Tehran and Moscow is a "two-way street," with Iran receiving nuclear technology from Russia in exchange for delivering "Fateh 360" ballistic missiles to Russia. Mr. Blinken stated that Iran is seeking to obtain such nuclear technologies. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the U.S. and Britain agreed that Iran's nuclear program has not yet reached the stage of military nuclear capability. The Islamic Republic of Iran has long claimed that its nuclear program has peaceful objectives, but a senior military official of the Islamic Republic and Kamal Kharrazi, an advisor to the Iranian leader on international affairs, stated in April that if Israel targets Iran's nuclear facilities, the Islamic Republic may reconsider its nuclear doctrine. These statements were interpreted as a warning regarding Iran's potential efforts to convert its nuclear program into the production of nuclear warheads. The International Atomic Energy Agency has announced that Iran's nuclear fuel has increased to a level in the months of Khordad, Tir, and Mordad this year that if it decides politically to achieve military nuclear capability, the mentioned fuel would be sufficient to produce several warheads. Britain, France, and Germany issued a joint statement last week warning of the consequences of Iran's "significant growth" in enriched uranium reserves. The Iranian Foreign Minister and the Kremlin spokesperson denied the equipping of Russia with Iranian ballistic missiles last week, but the governments of Washington, London, and the European Union expressed concern, confirming reports indicating this new military cooperation between Tehran and Moscow. Since shortly after Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Iran has been accused of supplying Russia with suicide drones, including the "Shahed 136" model. Russia has become reliant on receiving equipment from its allies to continue its war in Ukraine, and the recent visit of the Russian President to North Korea was also assessed in this context. CNN published satellite images last Friday of the Russian ship "Port Olia 3," suspected of carrying the first shipment of ballistic missiles loaded from Iran, after leaving Amirabad port in Iran and arriving at the Russian port of Astrakhan. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the aforementioned ship and three other ships of a Russian businessman, along with several Iranian companies linked to the Revolutionary Guard and their managers, for transferring "Iran's lethal aid to Russia."