“We hear about a lot of allegations regarding some kind of supplies of some kind of weapons to Russia, but they are groundless,” Peskov told journalists commenting on US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s recent statement that Iran had been allegedly supplying Russia with missiles.

“We are developing our relations with a number of countries, we are cooperating in various spheres, and we will continue this cooperation in the interests of all involved countries,” he added.

On Tuesday, the US announced the measures against Iran Air and a number of Iranian and Russian shipping companies after Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the entities of transporting Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia. The UK, France, and Germany followed suit by canceling bilateral agreements allowing Iran Air to enter their airspace, and by sanctioning Russian and Iranian companies, vessels, and individuals allegedly involved in the missile trade.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the US and its allies were acting “on false intelligence and false logic.”

“Iran has NOT delivered ballistic missiles to Russia. Period,” he wrote. “Sanction addicts should ask themselves: how is Iran able to make and supposedly sell sophisticated arms?”

“Sanctions are not the solution but part of the problem,” he concluded.

Aragachi is not the first Iranian official to deny supplying the missiles to Russia.

“No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare,” senior military commander Fazlollah Nozari told Iranian media on Monday.

“We strongly reject the claims of Iran’s role in exporting arms to one side of the war,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters later that day, referring to the Ukraine conflict.

“Iran’s accusers are the ones who are among the biggest arms exporters to one side of the war,” he added.

Speaking in Kyiv alongside the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, Blinken said the US had “from day one” been willing to adapt its policy as the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine changed.

“We will continue to do this,” he emphasised.

Blinken added he and Lammy would report back to their “bosses” – Joe Biden and Keir Starmer – after their talks on Wednesday with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The foreign secretary suggested Iran’s dispatch of ballistic missiles to Moscow had changed strategic thinking in London and Washington.

It was a “significant and dangerous escalation”, he said.

Iranian officials say no missile was sent to Russia and the claim is a kind of psychological warfare.

Blinken added: “The escalator here is Vladimir Putin. Putin has escalated with the shipment of missiles from Iran. We see a new axis of Russia, Iran and North Korea.”

Lammy urged China “not to throw in its lot” with what he called “a group of renegades”.

British government sources indicated that a decision had already been made to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia, although it is not expected to be publicly announced on Friday when Starmer meets Biden in Washington DC.

The two leaders are planning to discuss the war in Ukraine, and how it could be ended, as part of a wide-ranging foreign policy discussion, though they will avoid an intense focus on any individual weapons system, as the aim of the conversation is strategic.

No press conference is scheduled during what is expected to be a short visit, Starmer’s second to the US as prime minister, after which there may be further conversations over the weekend to update key European allies on the discussions.

Wednesday’s joint visit to Kyiv by Blinken and Lammy to meet Zelensky would not be taking place had there been no positive decision regarding Storm Shadow, the sources added.

But it would be considered unnecessarily provocative to make a public announcement about long-range missiles in Kyiv. It is also likely there will still be restrictions around Ukraine’s use of the missiles, which have a range of at least 190 miles, to avoid reckless or unnecessary attacks.

Speaking in Kyiv, Lammy said he would not reveal details of private discussions that might hand Putin an advantage. He denounced the Russian leader’s “sinister” invasion of Ukraine and accused him personally of “arrogance and greed”.

“This is imperialism. This is fascism,” he added.

Ukraine has been lobbying for months for permission to hit airfields, missile launchers and command and control centres deep inside Russian territory. Speaking to the Guardian in May, Zelensky said Biden’s equivocation and incremental approach had cost lives. It allowed the Kremlin to “hunt” Ukrainians, he complained.

Zelensky urged the president to overcome his perennial worries about nuclear escalation. The US should “believe in us more”, he stressed, saying of Russia: “We have to respond. They don’t understand anything but force.”

Blinken and Lammy arrived in Kyiv on an overnight train from Poland. They had come to reiterate “ironclad support for Ukraine”, Lammy posted on X.

“We must stand up to Vladimir Putin’s imperialism. Our collective security depends on it.”

Russia’s attacks on civilians were “horrific, barbaric, unbelievable”, he commented.

The trip came 24 hours after Blinken confirmed in London that Tehran had shipped new deadly ballistic missiles to Russia. In Kyiv, Blinken stated he was delivering a strong message that Britain and the US were committed to Ukraine’s “success” and “victory”.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Lammy described the UK’s backing for Ukraine as an enduring “hundred-year partnership”. He added the government was providing a new package of military assistance including Brimstone missiles and AS-90 self-propelled guns.

“We recognise what is at stake: not just the liberty of Ukraine but the security of Europe and the west,” Lammy declared.

There was growing anticipation in Kyiv that the US and UK would finally lift their objections to long-range strikes.

Ukrainian officials had previously expressed frustration that the new Labour government in the UK had not been more robust on the issue, and had waited for the White House to amend its red lines. The US state department has reportedly been open to Kyiv’s request, with the Pentagon and some in the US intelligence community sceptical.

In May the US allowed weapons such as Himars artillery to be used within Russia’s border regions for the first time. This followed a Kremlin offensive into the Kharkiv region and the Ukrainian city of Vovchansk.

This week senior Democrats and Republicans in Washington urged the White House to go further. In a letter, a group of senators called on Biden “to immediately end” his administration’s “limitations” on the use of long-range missiles provided by the US and its NATO allies.

Ukraine has been pressing its allies to allow the use of Western-supplied long-range missiles on targets in Russia, particularly after Blinken accused Iran of providing Moscow with Fath-369 short-range ballistic missiles at a news conference in London.

“We hope that long-range equipment for strikes on the territory of our enemy will be reached and we will have it,” Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal told Lammy.

“We hope for your help and support in this issue.”

“If we are allowed to destroy (Russia’s) military targets or weapons ready for attacks on Ukraine, it would certainly bring more safety for our civilians, our people, and our children,” Shmyhal added in a news conference on Tuesday.

The Kremlin announced Russia would respond “appropriately” if the US agreed to lift its restrictions on Ukraine using US-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

“Each decision made by the collective West and then imputed to Ukraine is an additional confirmation that conducting (the war) is justified, necessary and has no alternative,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, called for “strong decisions” to be made as he reiterated his call for permission to use long-distance missiles in Russia.

“I will have a little bit later a talk with him (Blinken) and minister of foreign affairs for the UK. I don’t know all the details of our conversation. I will be ready to be open and honest after these consultations.”

“If I am optimistic about their decision to give us permission to use long distance, it is a pity it doesn’t depend on my optimism. It depends on their optimism. Let’s count on some strong decisions on this,” he continued.

“For us it is very important for today. Anyway, I will tell you after the meeting and anyway I am counting on my dialogue with President (Joe) Biden this month,” Zelensky stated.

He also said a “victory plan” he wants to present to Joe Biden this month would strengthen Kyiv.

“If partners support it (the plan), it will make it easier for Ukraine to force Russia to end the war,” the Ukrainian president added.

“What is this plan for? It is a serious strengthening of Ukraine and, in my opinion, it will have both psychological and political… influence on Russia’s decision to end this war.”

Lammy has said the west is “listening carefully” to Ukraine’s needs, adding he and Blinken were to “listen to Ukraine, to speak to President Zelensky, to hear and understand the strategy”.

When asked if the UK would allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia, Lammy stated, “We’re here to listen, to understand the plan, to understand the strategy and understand the needs across a whole range of fronts.”

“We are listening carefully and, of course, we are having discussions on a range of issues including the military equipment that Ukraine needs to win.”

Also on Wednesday, Lammy announced more than 600 million pounds of support for Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The UK is set to provide 242 million pounds of funding and 484 million pounds in loan guarantees.

The UK government is set to provide hundreds of additional air defence missiles, tens of thousands of additional artillery ammunition rounds and more armoured vehicles, to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of the year.

Blinken also announced more than $700 million in aid for Ukraine, aiming to bolster the energy grid that Russia has repeatedly pounded ahead of an expected difficult winter.

The $325m in energy support in the package will help repair and restore Ukraine’s power generation facilities, provide emergency backup power and strengthen the physical security of energy infrastructure.

Some $290m will fund food, water, shelter, health care and education programs for Ukrainians in need in the country and refugees outside the country. The remaining $102m will be used for mine-removal activities.