Iran has admitted sending missiles to Russia

Iran has admitted that it has transferred its ballistic missiles to Russia. The transfer of missiles was announced by Bakhshaishu Ardestani, a member of the National Security Commission of the Iranian parliament.

According to him, it is a favourable deal and Iranians get food instead of guns.

We have to barter to fulfil our needs, including imports of soya and wheat. Part of the barter involves sending missiles and the other part involves sending military drones to Russia," Ardestani said.

Asked whether sending ballistic missiles to Russia could lead to further sanctions or the launch of the so-called snapback mechanism against Iran, the lawmaker said, "It can't be worse than it is now. We give missiles to Hezbollah, Hamas and Hashd al-Shaabi, then why not give them to Russia?"

He added that his country "sells weapons and gets dollars" and "circumvents sanctions through partnership with Russia.

We import soya, corn and other goods from Russia. The Europeans sell weapons to Ukraine. NATO has entered Ukraine, so why shouldn't we support our ally?" Ardestani added.

TheWallStreet Journal, citing European and US officials, wrote that Iran has already sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. This happened when Russia stepped up its missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.