The U.S. and U.K. are increasingly concerned that Russia is sharing with Iran secret information and technology that could bring it closer to being able to build nuclear weapons, in exchange for Tehran providing Moscow with ballistic missiles for its war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin has increased its cooperation with Iran over its ambitions to obtain atomic weapons in recent months, according to Western officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss assessments that haven’t been made public.
The development was discussed by U.S. and U.K. officials in Washington this week, the people added, as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met President Joe Biden at the White House for a strategic meeting on foreign policy. They described it as worrying, and an escalation of Russia and Iran’s military ties.
Biden’s administration remains deeply concerned with Iran’s nuclear activities, according to a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council. Biden has made it clear that the U.S. is ready to use all elements of national power to prevent any nuclear escalation by Iran, the spokesperson said Saturday.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and Iran’s embassy at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Group of Seven foreign ministers condemned “Iran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles” in a joint statement on Saturday, calling it a further escalation of Iranian military support to Russia’s war in Ukraine and demanding that it cease immediately.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested during a recent visit to London that Russia was exchanging nuclear technology with Tehran, saying Moscow had received a shipment of Iran’s Fath-360 ballistic missiles.
“For its part, Russia is sharing technology that Iran seeks — this is a two-way street — including on nuclear issues, as well as some space information,” Blinken said.
Blinken and U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy agreed during talks in London that “Iran’s nuclear program had never been more advanced,” the U.S. State Department said in a joint statement Saturday.
Starmer will meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Monday to discuss Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East, among other topics. Italy has traditionally sought to project itself as a mediator in the Middle East, maintaining relations with Iran.
Iran insists it isn’t looking to produce nuclear weapons, although there’s concern it could build them in response to escalating tensions with Israel.
In April, a senior Iranian general said the Islamic Republic could revise its nuclear doctrine if Israel targeted its atomic facilities, remarks that were seen as a warning that it could seek to produce a warhead, having long said its atomic capabilities were only for civil purposes.
IAEA, the United Nations watchdog, said Iran’s nuclear-fuel levels rose between June and August, enough to fuel a handful of warheads should Iran make a political decision to pursue weapons.
At a conference in London last weekend, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns said Russia and Iran were deepening their military relations.
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(With assistance from Jenny Leonard.)
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