Pakistan rejects claim it will provide transit for Chinese missile shipment to Iran

Pakistan on Wednesday “categorically” rejected a report that it would provide transit for the shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense missile systems to Iran.

“All such speculations are baseless and devoid of truth,” Pakistan’s military media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told Anadolu.

“Such speculations are categorically rejected,” it added.

Earlier Wednesday, Reuters reported that Iran was expected to receive the first shipment of the air defense systems within weeks as it seeks to rebuild its defenses amid its war with the US.

Under a plan agreed by the parties, the initial deliveries would be flown from Urumqi in western China and transit through Pakistan before reaching Iran, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

The sources did not clarify whether the shipment would pass through Pakistan by air or road.