Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York has dismissed Western media reports alleging that the Islamic Republic had provided Russia with ballistic missiles to use in its ongoing war with Ukraine.

According to The Iran Project,“Despite no legal restrictions on ballistic missile sales, Iran is morally obligated to refrain from weapon transactions during the Russia-Ukraine conflict to prevent fueling the war—and that is rooted in Iran’s adherence to international law and the UN Charter,” the mission said on its official page on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday evening New York time.

On Wednesday, Reuters news agency, citing “six sources”, said that Iran had provided Russia with around 400 powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles.

The news agency claimed that the “shipments began in early January after a deal was finalized in meetings late last year between Iranian and Russian military and security officials that took place in Tehran and Moscow.”

Following the report, the US administration warned of a “swift and severe” response from the international community if Iran had provided missiles to Russia.

Tehran and Moscow have on various occasions said that the provision of Iranian-made weapons to Russia is part of military cooperation between the two countries, and have denied Western officials and media outlets’ allegations that the weapons are used in the war in Ukraine.

Russia is also highly critical of Western states, especially the United States, for giving arms to Ukraine, saying that their military support only prolongs the conflict that began two years ago.