Iran’s most senior diplomat in London was summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing down over Tehran supplying Russia with ballistic missiles.
Ali Matinfar was called to Whitehall for a top Foreign Office mandarin to make clear Britain’s condemnation of the move.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Today, in coordination with European partners and upon instruction from the Foreign Secretary, the Chargé
d’Affaires of the Iranian Embassy in London was summoned to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
“Mr. Ali Matinfar was summoned over Iran’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine.”
“The UK Government was clear in that any transfer of Ballistic Missiles to Russia would be seen as a dangerous escalation and would face a significant response.”
Iran Air is being banned from flying to London after Tehran was accused of supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the move on Tuesday after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks in London.
The ban will take 12 months to come into effect.
France and Germany are also cancelling bilateral air services with Iran.
Mr Lammy said: “Iran supplying Russia with ballistic missiles to fuel its illegal invasion of Ukraine is a significant and dangerous escalation.
“We have been clear in that any transfer of ballistic missiles by Iran would face a significant response. Today, alongside our international partners, we are calling out this behaviour and its attempts to undermine global security.
“Iran must stop supporting (Vladimir) Putin’s unprovoked, premeditated and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state. The UK will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
The UK and Washington announced coordinated sanctions against Iranian and Russian individuals and organisations. The UK has also sanctioned five Russian cargo ships.
At a press conference at the Foreign Office, Mr Blinken publicly confirmed earlier reports that the West has intelligence that Iran has been supplying short range ballistic missiles to Putin’s regime.
America’s top diplomat said: “Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine, against Ukrainians.
“The supply of Iranian missiles enables Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets that are further from the front line.”
They will meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky who has been urging the West to allow his armed forces to use long range weapons supplied by it to attack targets deep inside Russia.
Putin’s military are launching “glide bombs” from planes far from the frontline to launch attacks with devastating impacts.
Joe Biden has so far stopped short of giving the go-ahead for Ukraine to use weapons from the West to strike deep into Russia.
But Mr Blinken and Mr Lammy will report back on Ukraine’s plans and strategies for the war ahead of a meeting in Washington on Friday between the president and Sir Keir Starmer.
In what may be a sign of movement on this issue, the Secretary of State said: “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.”
Mr Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire US-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defence but largely limited the distance over concerns about further escalating the conflict.
That has not stopped Ukraine from using its own weapons to hit targets deeper in Russia, launching on Tuesday one of the biggest drone attacks on Russian soil in the war that targeted multiple regions including Moscow.
The rare joint visit to Kyiv was, unusually, announced in advance, in a public signal of US-UK support for Ukraine ahead of what’s likely to be a brutal winter of Russian attacks in the war started by Putin in February 2022.
The Kremlin is trying to repel Ukraine’s surprise offensive that has claimed hundreds of miles of territory in Russia’s Kursk region.
