Russia is attempting to obtain more weapons from Iran, including hundreds of ballistic missiles, and offering Tehran an unprecedented level of military and technical support in return, the UK's United Nations Ambassador Barbara Woodward said on Friday.
Woodward also said that since August Iran had transferred hundreds of drones - known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - to Russia, which had used them to "kill civilians and illegally target civilian infrastructure" in Ukraine.
Iran denies supplying drones to Moscow and Russia has rejected claims its forces used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.
"Russia is now attempting to obtain more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles," Woodward told reporters.
"In return, Russia is offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support. We're concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with more advanced military components, which will allow Iran to strengthen their weapons capability," she said.
The Iranian and Russian missions to the UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran has promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles, in addition to more drones, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters in October.
The US said on Wednesday it has seen the continued provision of Iranian drones to Russia but had not seen evidence Iran has transferred ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine.
Woodward spoke ahead of a Security Council meeting later on Friday, requested by Russia, on weapons from the Ukraine conflict Russia said are "falling into the hands of bandits and terrorists" elsewhere in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
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She also said the UK was "almost certain that Russia is seeking to source weaponry from North Korea [and] other heavily sanctioned states, as their overstocks palpably dwindle."
The UN is examining "available information" about accusations that Iran supplied Russia with drones, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council in a report earlier this week, as he faces Western pressure to send experts to Ukraine to inspect downed drones.
France, Germany, the US, UK and Ukraine have said the supply of Iranian-made drones to Russia violates a 2015 UN Security Council resolution enshrining the Iran nuclear deal.
Russia argues there is no mandate for Guterres to send UN experts to Ukraine to investigate the origin of the drones.
Guterres said in the latest report the transfer of drones or ballistic missiles - with a range of more than 300km - from Iran to another country would require prior approval from the UN Security Council.
