On Tuesday, the White House alleged that Russia’s Wagner mercenary group is planning to supply an air defense system to Lebanon’s Hezbollah militants or to Tehran, marking what they described as “unprecedented defense cooperation” between Russia and two U.S. adversaries.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby informed reporters, “Our information… indicates that Wagner, at the direction of the Russian government, was preparing to provide an air defense capability to either Hezbollah or Iran.”
Earlier this month, The Kremlin dismissed the allegations, labeling them as unfounded. The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified U.S. officials, reported that Wagner was gearing up to deliver the Pantsir-S1, a Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and missile system known as SA-22 by NATO.
Wagner, funded by the Kremlin, recently faced repercussions after a failed mutiny in June, posing a significant threat to President Vladimir Putin’s longstanding rule. Kirby emphasized the U.S.’s readiness to employ counterterrorism sanctions against Russian individuals or entities involved in destabilizing transfers.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted the claims, stating, “We have already said that, de-facto, such a group (Wagner) does not exist.” He dismissed the report as baseless, reiterating that there are emergency communication channels between the Russian and U.S. militaries for addressing concerns.
The U.S. has consistently raised concerns about the deepening military ties between Moscow and Tehran. Kirby described this growing relationship as “obviously harmful to Ukraine, certainly harmful to Iran’s neighbors, quite frankly harmful to the international community.”
In September, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s official visit to Iran was deemed an “important step” for military cooperation between the two allies. Both countries, facing international trade sanctions, have cultivated strong ties across various sectors.