Former MP blasts Iran's leaders for missile transfer to Russia

A former Iranian MP and commentator Heshmatollah Falhatpisheh has called Iran's latest arms sales to Russia "the dirtiest example of Russophilia" as Iran gets ever closer to its allies in Moscow.

He said Iran's leaders "have turned Iran into a playing card" in the war on Ukraine as Iran already faces global sanctions for providing drones to Russia used in civilian areas of Ukraine.

The outspoken former MP said the latest debacle was part of a "dirty game" as Iran is dragged further into global conflict and sanctions which have led to the country's worst economic crisis since the founding of the Islamic Republic.

"It will continue until the dictator [Putin] leaves the quagmire," he blasted.

The former chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, he is now a faculty member of Allameh Tabatabaei University. He has made no secret of his opposition to the government's policies which continue to lead the country closer to conflict with global powers such as the US.

The latest arms sales to Russia were confirmed by an Iranian lawmaker who denied that the delivery of ballistic missiles would risk heavy implications for Iran, also sanctioned for human rights abuses at home and its nuclear weapons program. Iran's supply of kamikaze drones to Russia since 2022 has already angered Western powers that have imposed sanctions against Iranian entities and individuals.

Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani justified it by saying Iran has to subsequently "barter for our needs, including importing soybeans and wheat. Part of the barter involves sending missiles, and another part involves sending military drones to Russia."

When asked whether sending ballistic missiles to Russia might lead to further sanctions or trigger the so-called "snapback" mechanism against Iran, the member of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee replied, "It can't get any worse than it already is. We give missiles to [our proxies] Hezbollah, Hamas, and Hashd al-Shaabi, so why not to Russia?"

On Sunday, Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, once again denied being an ally to Russia in its war in Ukraine, saying "the Islamic Republic has never been part of the Russia-Ukraine conflict."

He said that "military cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Russia dates back well before the start of the Ukraine war."