The US and Britain accuse Iran of sending Russia missiles to use against Ukraine

LONDON (AP) — The United States and Britain formally accused Iran on Tuesday of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, announcing new sanctions on Moscow and Tehran before a joint visit to Kyiv by their top diplomats.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London, said Iran had ignored warnings that the transfer of such weapons would be a profound escalation of the conflict.

He told reporters that dozens of Russian military personnel had been trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles (120 kilometers).

“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukrainians,” Blinken said. “The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”

The West's allegations about the missile transfers come as the Kremlin is trying to repel Ukraine’s surprise offensive, which has claimed hundreds of square miles of territory in Russia’s Kursk region. The accusations could embolden Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to further ramp up pressure on the U.S. and other allies to allow Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike deep inside Russia and hit sites from which Moscow launches aerial attacks.

Iran's foreign ministry denies providing ballistic missiles to Russia, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.

“Publishing wrong and misleading reports about transferring Iranian weapons to some countries is merely an ugly propaganda and lie aimed at hiding illegal massive size weaponry support by the U.S. and some Western nations for genocide in the Gaza Strip," it quoted ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani as saying.

The U.S., U.K. and other Western allies are pressing for a cease-fire to end the devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and avoid attacks from Iranian proxies in the region escalating into a broader war.

Britain, France and Germany announced new sanctions Tuesday against Iran and Russia, calling the missile transfers “a direct threat to European security.” The penalties include the cancellation of air services agreements with Iran, which will restrict Iran Air’s ability to fly to the U.K. and Germany.

Britain also said it and the United States were sanctioning those involved in sending Iranian drones and missiles to Russia. They include two senior officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a senior defense ministry official, as well as several businesses and four Russian cargo ships alleged to have transported supplies from Iran to Russia. Three Russian military units involved with aviation and aerospace also were sanctioned.

The U.S. Treasury and the State Department in the past few years have imposed economic sanctions on people and companies based in Iran, China, Russia, Turkey and other nations who officials allege are connected with the development of Iran’s drone program.

The sanctions on Iranian drone production tied to Russia’s invasion, dating to November 2022, were issued despite Iranian leaders’ denials that the country had sent them.

Sanctions, among other things, bar people and businesses from accessing property or financial assets held in the U.S. and prevent U.S. companies and citizens from doing business with them.

The announcement precedes a Blinken and Lammy visit Wednesday to Kyiv, where they will meet Zelenskyy and other officials to discuss bolstering the country's defenses. The rare joint visit was unusually announced in advance — a public signal of U.S-.U.K. support for Ukraine ahead of what’s likely to be a brutal winter of Russian attacks.

Asked whether the U.S. would allow weapons it supplied to be used to strike targets deeper inside Russia, Blinken said all use of weapons needed to be allied to a strategy.

He said one goal of the visit this week “is to hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership, including … President Zelenskyy, about exactly how the Ukrainians see their needs in this moment, toward what objectives, and what we can do to support those needs.”

President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defense but largely limited the distance over concerns about further escalating the conflict. Blinken met Tuesday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who will sit down with Biden at the White House on Friday.

“We will be listening intently to our Ukrainian partners, we will both be reporting back to the prime minister, to President Biden in the coming days, and I fully anticipate this is something they will take up when they meet on Friday,” Blinken said.

In the meantime, Ukraine is using its own weapons to hit targets deeper in Russia, launching on Tuesday one of the biggest drone attacks on Russian soil in the 2 1/2-year war to target multiple regions including Moscow.

Word of the alleged transfers from Iran began to emerge over the weekend. Lammy called them part of “a troubling pattern that we’re seeing. It is definitely a significant escalation.”

The U.S. and its allies have been warning Iran for months not to transfer ballistic missiles to Russia.

CIA Director William Burns, who was in London on Saturday for a joint appearance with his British intelligence counterpart, warned of the growing and “troubling” defense relationship involving Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, which he said threatens both Ukraine and Western allies in the Middle East.

The White House has repeatedly declassified and publicized intelligence findings that show North Korea has sent ammunition and missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine, while Iran also supplies Moscow with attack drones and has assisted the Kremlin with building a drone-manufacturing factory.

China has held back from providing Russians with weaponry but has surged sales to Russia of machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry, according to U.S. officials.

Associated Press writers Fatima Hussein in Washington and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, listens to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a joint press conference in the Locarno room at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left and Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy shake hands at the end of their joint press conference in the Locarno room at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy as he arrives for a meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, talks to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy as he arrives for a meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, talks to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy as he arrives for a meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, listens to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in a strategic dialogue meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, arrives for a strategic dialogue meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, speaks during a strategic dialogue meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a strategic dialogue meeting with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, listens to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in a strategic dialogue meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left speaks during a joint press conference with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Locarno room at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Locarno room at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, gestures as he participates with Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, in a strategic dialogue meeting at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.

A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 a.m. Saturday, the military said.

The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.

The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.

The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides’ attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine U.N. mediation efforts.

In the Gaza Strip on Saturday, mourners held the funerals of 19 people — 12 of them children — killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and overnight.

One of the strikes hit a residential building in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, and injuring 16 others, health officials said.

In Gaza City, another strike on a house overnight killed 12 people, including seven children and two women, according to Al-Ahli Hospital where the bodies were taken.

Mourners gathered at the hospital in Gaza City Saturday morning. Women comforted each other as they wept over the bodies before they were carried away. One man, stony-faced, cradled a tiny shroud-wrapped body in his arms as he carried it along the funeral procession.

In Al-Aqsa Hospital of Deir al Balah, white body bags containing those killed in Nuseirat were taken from the morgue and loaded onto the back of an open truck to be taken for burial.

Overall, Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday that 21 people had been killed and 61 were wounded over the past 24 hours.

Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian casualties in Gaza and questions about whether it has done enough to prevent them.

Israel says it only strikes militants, and blames the Hamas militant group for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.

More than 45,200 people have been killed and more than 107,500 wounded in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, when a Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered the devastating 14-month war in Gaza. Local health officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but have said more than half of the fatalities are women and children.

The Israeli military organization dealing with humanitarian affairs for Gaza said Saturday it had led a “tactical coordinated operation” delivering thousands of food packages, flour and water to the Beit Hanoun area in the north of the Gaza Strip.

The organization, known by its acronym COGAT, said trucks from the U.N. World Food Program transported 2,000 food packages, 1,680 sacks of flour and thousands of liters of water to distribution centers in the area on Friday.

Aid groups have said previously that military operations and armed gangs have hindered their ability to distribute aid to civilians in need.

Gaza's Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal Saturday for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, while the hospital director described dire conditions.

The ministry said in a statement that there was continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital. “Shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic,” the ministry said.

Hospital Director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh said the facility was “facing severe shortages."

“Despite promises, we have not received the necessary supplies to maintain electricity, water, and oxygen systems," Abu Safiyeh said. "Our requests for essential medical supplies and staff have largely gone unmet.”

He said the World Health Organization had delivered 70 units of blood, but that the hospital requires at least 200 units to meet urgent needs. He said 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.

The shortages extend beyond medical necessities. “Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded. We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us,” he said. “The staff is working around the clock, yet we cannot even provide meals for them.”

Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Men pray over the bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp during a funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital before their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Israeli soldier observes the site where the missile launched from Yemen landed Jaffa district, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)