New satellite imagery revealed on Wednesday, Sept. 11, shows what appears to be the Russian cargo ship that brought ballistic missiles to Russia from Iran. The vessel known as the Olya-3, was spotted in the Caspian Sea off of the coast of southwest Russia. The pictures are reportedly seen as further evidence to back up claims from the United States and Europe that Russia is receiving missiles from Iran for its war in Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Tuesday, Sept. 10, that Moscow will use the weapons to strike Ukrainian forces, towns and civilian infrastructure in the coming weeks.
The images reportedly show Moscow’s first shipment of short-range ballistic missiles on Sept. 4. Olya-3 frequently transports cargo in the Caspian Sea between Russia and Iran, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. The department announced sanctions on the vessel as part of a larger effort to crackdown on Tehran for its weapons transfers to Moscow.
It’s unclear how many missiles Moscow received but the U.S. Treasury Department said Russia and Iran signed an agreement late last year for the supply of hundreds of missiles. However, Iran and Russia both deny the transfer of missiles.
Meanwhile, Britain, France and German called the delivery an “escalation by both Iran and Russia” and a “direct threat to European security.”
Iran previously supplied Russia with attack drones and North Korea gave Moscow ballistic missiles and artillery.
There are reports that Russia’s purchase of Iranian ballistic missiles will be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, and Washington, D.C., may finally lift its restrictions on Ukraine using U.S-supplied weapons to strike Russian targets deep behind the front lines.
President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer are supposed to discuss the topic on Friday, Sept 13.
