Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian will attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Russia amid heightened tensions with the West over Iran-Russia military cooperation. In particular, we are talking about the supply of Iranian ballistic missiles for the war against Ukraine.
As informs Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali confirmed to Reuters on September 15 that Pezeshkian would attend the BRICS summit in Kazan from October 22 to 24. During this event, the Iranian leader plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of the key topics of the meeting will be the signing of a bilateral agreement on “comprehensive cooperation”, which will cover a wide range of spheres of interaction between the two states.
The escalation in relations between Iran and the West is related to the recent statements of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that Iran is supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine. According to Blinken, these missiles could be used by Moscow within several weeks, which poses a threat to European security.
Western media reports that Iran has already handed Russia about 220 ballistic missiles, including Ababil and Fath-360 models with a range of up to 86 and 120 km, respectively. This can significantly affect the course of military operations in Ukraine, in particular, strikes on critical infrastructure.
In response to these actions, the USA, Germany, Great Britain and France introduced new sanctions against Iran. In particular, the restrictions concern the national airline Iran Air. However, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi categorically denied the accusations of supplying Russia with missiles, saying that the sanctions only complicate the situation and do not contribute to its solution. He emphasized that conflicts should be resolved diplomatically.
Against this background, Ukraine and its Western partners strive to achieve unity in responding to the delivery of Iranian missiles, but the question remains open: are Israel, the Arab countries and the West ready for tough actions?
