US officials on Thursday has claimed that four Russian cruise missiles fired at Syria from a warship in the Caspian Sea on Wednesday had crashed in Iran while Russia insisted they had reached their targets in Syria, reports Reuters.
The White House declined to comment on the report from the officials, who asked not to be identified, and the State Department said it could not confirm it.
If confirmed, the crashes would be a blow to the military strength Russia aimed to display in launching what it said were 26 missiles at Islamic State targets in Syria some 1,500km from the Caspian Sea on Wednesday.
The Russian defence ministry denied any of the missiles had fallen short of their targets after reports of crashes first emerged on US television. Russia had displayed graphics of the missiles flying over Iran and Iraq on Wednesday. The missile launches were in support of a major ground offensive by the Syrian army on several fronts in the war-torn country’s west.
Meanwhile, Iran on Friday declined to confirm a claim by a US official that Russian missiles targeting rebels in Syria crashed in its territory this week, reported AFP.
“We don’t confirm” this information, foreign ministry spokeswoman Afkham Marzieh said when asked about the claim.
