US, UK sound alarm over potential Russia-Iran 'nuclear secrets exchange'

The US and the UK have expressed concern that Russia may be sharing nuclear technology with Iran in exchange for Tehran supplying Moscow with ballistic missiles to use in its war against Ukraine.

These concerns were highlighted during a summit between UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington DC last Friday. 

Both leaders noted the deepening military cooperation between Russia and Iran, a partnership that comes at a time when Iran is reportedly enriching uranium to a level that could enable it to build a nuclear bomb. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visited London last week, where he said that Russia had received ballistic missiles from Iran and was likely to use them within weeks. 

In London, Blinken said Russia was sharing nuclear technology with Iran.

"For its part, Russia is sharing technology that Iran seeks – this is a two-way street – including on nuclear issues as well as some space information," Blinken said, as he accused both Russia and Iran of engaging in destabilising actions that are contributing to "even greater insecurity" on a global scale. 

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who joined last week's meetings with Starmer and Blinken, emphasised that the US-UK alliance would tackle what he called "Iran's malign activity in the region and beyond". 

Britain, France, and Germany have issued warnings about Iran’s growing stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which they believe could be used to produce nuclear weapons.  

Iran denies that it is seeking a nuclear bomb and says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful civilian purposes.

While it remains unclear how advanced Iran’s nuclear capabilities are, any assistance from Russian specialists would likely increase them.

Russia has previously launched dozens of 70 Iranian-made drones across Ukraine, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to call for increased air defence and long-range capabilities to protect civilians.  

Ahead of the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stark warning to Western nations, cautioning against allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory.  

Putin asserted that such an action would be interpreted as NATO’s "direct participation" in the war.