Tehran Did Not Deliver Missiles to Russia, Foreign Minister Says

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Tehran Did Not Deliver Missiles to Russia, Foreign Minister Says

Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's top nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi talks to journalists after meeting senior officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, Germany and France in a hotel in Vienna, Austria, October 19, 2015. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday that Tehran had not delivered any ballistic missiles to Russia and sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and three European powers would not solve any problems between them.

"Once again, US and E3 act on faulty intelligence and flawed logic. Iran has NOT delivered ballistic missiles to Russia. Period... Sanctions are not a solution, but part of problem," Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X, Reuters reported.

The E3 comprises of Britain, Germany and France.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them in Ukraine within weeks. Cooperation between Moscow and Tehran threatened wider European security, he said.

The United States, Germany, Britain and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed reports that Iran had shipped missiles to Russia, saying claims about various arms transfers were baseless.



NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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NATO Chief Rutte Says Zelenskiy's Criticism of Germany's Scholz is Unfair

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte holds a press conference, ahead of a meeting of NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, Belgium October 16, 2024. (Reuters)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he considered the sometimes harsh criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to be unjustified, news wire DPA reported.
Although Germany has been a vital ally of Ukraine, its hesitation in providing long-range Taurus cruise missiles has been a source of frustration in Kyiv, which is battling a foe armed with a powerful array of long-range weaponry, Reuters reported.
"I have often told Zelenskiy that he should stop criticizing Olaf Scholz, because I think it is unfair," DPA quoted Rutte on Monday as saying in an interview.
Rutte also said that he, unlike Scholz, would supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles and would not set limits on their use.
"In general, we know that such capabilities are very important for Ukraine," Rutte said, adding that it was not up to him to decide what allies should deliver.
After a November telephone call by Scholz with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in November, Zelenskiy said it had opened a Pandora's box that undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace".