Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that his government had 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, Reuters reported.

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 U.S.-sanctioned countries.

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised powers condemned on Saturday "in the strongest terms" Iran's export and Russia's procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles.

Iran has provided Russia with a large number of powerful surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, deepening the military cooperation between the two countries, which are both under U.S. sanctions.

"Iran must immediately cease all support to Russia's illegal and unjustifiable war against Ukraine and halt such transfers of ballistic missiles, UAVs (drones) and related technology, which constitute a direct threat to the Ukrainian people as well as European and international security more broadly," the G7 ministers said in a statement.

"We remain steadfast in our commitment to hold Iran to account for its unacceptable support for Russia's illegal war in Ukraine that further undermines global security. In line with our previous statements on the matter, we are already responding with new and significant measures."

Italy currently holds the presidency of the G7 group of wealthy nations which also includes the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France and Canada. - Reuters 

Iran on Saturday launched a research satellite into orbit with a rocket built by the Revolutionary Guards, state media reported.

The launch comes as the United States and European countries accuse Iran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia that would be likely used in its war with Ukraine within weeks. Iran has denied this, Reuters reported.

The Chamran-1 satellite, which was launched into space by the Qaem-100 satellite carrier, was put into a 550-kilometre (340-mile) orbit and its first signals had been received, the media said, adding that the solid fuel carrier was designed and built by the Aerospace Force of the Revolutionary Guards.

The primary mission of the satellite, which weighs 60 kg (132 pounds), "is to test hardware and software systems for demonstrating orbital manoeuvring technology in height and phase," according to state media.

In January, Iranian media reported that the Sorayya satellite had been launched into a 750 km orbit, the highest by the country so far.

The U.S. military alleges the long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also allow Tehran to launch long-range weapons, possibly including nuclear warheads.

Tehran denies its satellite activities are a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.

Chamran-1's other mission was to "evaluate the cold gas propulsion subsystem in space systems and the performance of the navigation and attitude control subsystems", state media reported.

Iran, which has one of the biggest missile programmes in the Middle East, has suffered several failed satellite launches in recent years due to technical issues.