US promises new sanctions on Iran for its support of Russia’s war in Ukraine, potential missile sale

“We have not seen any confirmation that missiles have actually moved from Iran to Russia,” Kirby said, but said that at the same time, “we have no reason to believe that they will not follow through.”

He said that if Iran moves forward, “I can assure you that the response from the international community will be swift and it will be severe.” He said the U.S. would take the matter to the UN Security Council, where Russia has a veto.

“We will implement additional sanctions against Iran and we will coordinate further response options with our allies and partners in Europe and elsewhere,” Kirby said.

Kirby added: “We have demonstrated our ability to take action in response to the military partnership between Russia and Iran in the past. We will do so in the future. In response to Iran’s ongoing support for Russia’s brutal war. We will be imposing additional sanctions on Iran in the coming days. And we are prepared to go further if Iran sells ballistic missiles to Russia.”

The U.S. is set to announce a new set of sanctions Friday against Russia that is timed for Saturday’s second anniversary of the Ukraine invasion and the death last week of outspoken Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in a Russian penal colony.