Iran's president denies weapons transfer in his tenure

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian says that his government has not transferred any weapons to Russia since it took office in August, after Western powers accused Tehran of delivering ballistic missiles to Moscow in September.

The United States and its allies accused Iran last week of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia for its war in Ukraine, imposing fresh sanctions on Moscow and Tehran.

Russia and Iran both denied the Western claims.

Asked whether Iran had transferred missiles to Russia, Pezeshkian told a televised news conference: "It is possible that a delivery took place in the past... but I can assure you that since I took office, there has not been any such delivery to Russia."

Reuters reported in February that Iran had provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two US-sanctioned countries.