Any Iranian transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia would mark a sharp escalation in the Ukraine war, the United States said on Friday, following reports that the two countries had deepened ties in recent weeks with such an arms transfer, Reuters reported.

Reuters reported in August that Russia was expecting the imminent delivery of hundreds of Fath-360 close-range ballistic missiles from Iran and that dozens of Russian military personnel were being trained in Iran on the satellite-guided weapons for eventual use in the war in Ukraine.

Short-range missiles have now been delivered to Russia by Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

“We have been warning of the deepening security partnership between Russia and Iran since the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and are alarmed by these reports,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.

“Any transfer of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia would represent a dramatic escalation in Iran’s support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Another U.S. official told Reuters they were watching the potential Iranian-Russian missile transfers closely.

The potential moves come after the United States and partners, including in Europe, warned that such a step by Iran could meet with consequences. The Western countries have been watching Iran and Russia’s deepening ties in recent months with increasing concern.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said on Friday that Tehran’s position on the Ukraine conflict was unchanged.

“Iran considers the provision of military assistance to the parties engaged in the conflict – which leads to increased human casualties, destruction of infrastructure, and a distancing from ceasefire negotiations – to be inhumane,” it said.

“Thus, not only does Iran abstain from engaging in such actions itself, but it also calls upon other countries to cease the supply of weapons to the sides involved in the conflict,” the mission said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed the Gaza war and ways to further repair the long-frozen ties between the regional powers during talks in Ankara, in the first such presidential visit in 12 years.

Relations between Ankara and Cairo collapsed in 2013 after Egypt’s then-army chief Sisi led the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi, a Turkish ally who had become Egypt’s first democratically elected president the year before, Reuters reported.

Ties between the two countries began thawing in 2020 when Ankara launched a diplomatic drive to ease tensions with its estranged regional rivals, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Last year, Ankara and Cairo mutually reappointed ambassadors and Turkey said it would also provide Cairo with armed drones. Erdogan travelled to Cairo in February for his first trip to Egypt since 2012.

He met Sisi at Ankara airport on Wednesday and the two then travelled in the same car to the presidential palace for around two hours of talks.

“With a win-win mindset, we will carry our multi-dimensional ties forward,” Erdogan said, adding Ankara particularly wanted to deepen ties with Egypt on natural gas and nuclear energy.

Ministers from the two countries signed 18 memorandum of understanding on cooperation in energy, defence, tourism, health, agriculture, finance, culture, education, and transport.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Erdogan reiterated that Turkey and Egypt wanted to boost annual trade by $5 billion to $15 billion in the next five years.

He added that Ankara and Cairo shared a “common stance” on the Palestinian cause, while Sisi said they were both calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to violence in the West Bank.

Turkey, which has condemned Israel for its war against Hamas militants in Gaza, has sent thousands of tonnes of aid to Egypt for Palestinians and praised Cairo’s humanitarian efforts and role as negotiator in the talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Sisi said they also discussed the situation in Libya, over which the two countries have long been at odds and backed opposing factions in an unresolved conflict.

“We stress that it is important to turn the page on the ongoing crisis through holding presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously with the exit of illegal foreign forces and mercenaries from the country, and put an end to the presence of armed militias to end the division,” he said.

The helicopter crash in which Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed was primarily caused by weather conditions that included thick fog, Iran’s state TV said on Sunday, citing the final investigation report on the incident, Reuters reported.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hardliner who was seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, died when his helicopter crashed in May in a mountainous region near the Azerbaijan border.

“The main reason of the helicopter crash was complicated weather conditions in the region,” the final report concluded, according to Iran’s state TV.

A thick mass of fog caused the helicopter that was carrying Raisi and his companions to crash into the mountain, the report issued by a high committee charged by Iran’s military with investigating the incident said.

A preliminary report by Iran’s military had said in May that no evidence of foul play or an attack had been found during the investigation, read the report.