A missile is launched during an annual drill in the coastal area of the Gulf of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran, in this picture obtained on December 31, 2022. Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY[/caption]
RUSSIA handed Iran critical nuclear secrets in return for ballistic missiles to pelt Ukraine, the West fears.
The doomsday deal was discussed at crunch White House talks between Joe Biden and Keir Starmer on Friday, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin[/caption]
The mad mullahs’ decades long bid for the bomb is believed by some intelligence sources to be close to an end game, with the desperate Kremlin feared to be getting them over the line.
The US and UK declassified intelligence last week to reveal Moscow had taken a shipment of Iran’s Fath-360 ballistic missiles.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used a visit to London to warn: “Russia is sharing technology that Iran seeks — this is a two way street — including on nuclear issues, as well as some space information.”
The threat was chewed over between the PM and President who were said to have acknowledged the massive risk of the global game changer that Israel says would see them wiped out.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei[/caption]
In retaliation for the missile shipment, Iran Air has been banned from flying over or landing in Britain and Russian shipping firms have been slapped with sanctions for making the shipments.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy accused Tehran of a “dangerous escalation”, but the Iranians denied they were involved.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has spoken movingly of the plight of hero Ukrainian troops on the sharp end of Putin’s bombardment.
And he heaped pressure on the US and UK to allow President Zelensky to use British kit to hit targets in Russia.
The ex-PM told the Sun on Sunday: “It is heartbreaking to visit wounded veterans in recovery centres – as I have in Kyiv this weekend – where Ukrainian heroes are being treated for the injuries they have suffered in the past few months, and to think that some of these casualties could have been avoided if we had given Storm Shadow permissions earlier.
He added: “There is no conceivable case for delay.
“The only person who fears escalation is Vladimir Putin and every day that goes by is a lost opportunity to save lives and bring about a just conclusion to this war”
Ukraine is staring at a long, hard winter of fighting against the Russians.
The fight has been made far harder after Iran sent Russia deadly ballistic missiles to help their onslaught.
This has piled pressure on the UK and US to let Ukraine use the British-made Storm Shadow missile system in retaliation.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets US President Joe Biden for talks on Ukraine, Russia and the Middle East[/caption]
These are long-range missiles which can strike deep into the heart of Russian territory.
Sir Keir urging allies to allow the use of the weapons.
But the US President is worried they could end up escalating the conflict.
Putin has warned that Russia would be at war” with Nato powers if they signed off use of the missiles.
The White House summit discussed allowing Ukraine to bomb Russia – but no final decision has been announced.
Sir Keir Starmer will travel to Italy on Monday to discuss using Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russia – as the Italians have a stake in the lethal airborne weapons system.
British sources say the PM would next be urging the French and Germans to back his support for the major escalation in Western support for Ukraine’s two an half year suffering at the hands of Russia.
A missile is launched during an annual drill in the coastal area of the Gulf of Oman[/caption]
Iran is a despotic regime which spreads murder and fear throughout the Middle East and beyond.
They bankroll Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis – all Islamist terrorists who want to wipe out Israel and the West.
A deal to limit Iran’s nuclear programme collapsed six years ago – leaving it totally unchecked.
If they finally get their hands on a nuke there are fears they could use it to launch a devastating attack on Israel and further their mission to plunge the world back into the Dark Ages.
Irahn could have nuclear weapons within months, warns Mark Almond, Director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford.
The West fears Iran is on the verge of getting a workable nuclear weapon with Russia’s help.
For many years, Iran has been enriching uranium. It seems to have enough to make a nuclear warhead.
But Iran needs two other things to turn the uranium into a mega-destructive nuclear weapon.
We know it has the missiles needed because even though Israel shot down most of the missiles launched at it from Iran in April. Remember it would take only ONE nuclear-armed rocket to get through to wreak havoc.
But the most important component of a nuclear weapon is the detonator inside the missile’s warhead which sets off the nuclear explosion on target.
If the detonator doesn’t work, then they would be just tossing a lump of radioactive rock at an enemy – polluting, not devastating.
Being sure the Ayatollah’s Bomb would work is essential to turning it into an immediate devastating threat.
This is where Russian help could be decisive.
Russia has been making nuclear weapons since 1949. Putin’s scientists have refined the art of making all the necessary parts of a workable nuclear bomb.
Iran has yet to test a nuclear warhead.
The West and Israel could detect the small earthquake set off by an underground nuclear explosion.
Russia – like America – has mastered the technology to test nuclear warheads without setting off an explosion which would alert the world.
If Russia is sharing its nuclear secrets with Iran in return for the hundreds of conventional missiles Teheran is sending to help in its brutal attack on Ukraine, then Iran could have working nuclear weapons within a few months.
Doing that would break UN sanctions, but Putin has shown contempt for them by doing arms deals with another pariah, North Korea.
The North Korean dictator, Kim Jong un – Donald Trump’s “rocket man” – has already exploded nuclear warheads underground. Iranian scientists are known to have visited North Korea too.
Russia’s willingness to cooperate with rogue states like Iran and North Korea makes the risk of Iran going nuclear by early 2025 rise alarmingly.
While the West dithers about the level of aid to give to defend itself, Russia is helping Iran speed towards having its own Bomb.
Shifting the West’s attention to the Middle East from Ukraine suits Putin.
But this isn’t a game of whack-a-mole.
If Russia is turning Iran into a nuclear power, the chain-reaction could engulf the world far beyond its borders.
