The Iranian regime denies arms sales to Russia. Iranian drones could still be used in the Russian attack on Ukraine, as Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian concedes - but only in "limited numbers."
Iran has admitted to supplying drones to Russia for the first time. The Islamic Republic made a limited number of drones available to Russia before the war in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. The chief diplomat denied further arms deliveries after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression and the provision of missiles.
Kyiv and the US government accuse the regime in Tehran of using kamikaze drones from Iran in Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. Tehran has also reportedly sent military personnel to Russian-held Crimea to train the Russians on how to use the drones and provide them with technical assistance.
So far, Tehran has denied this kind of military aid to the Kremlin. According to Amirabdollahian, Iran has good relations with Russia and long-term military cooperation. However, Tehran is against the war in Ukraine and rejects direct participation in the conflict, it said. A week ago, the foreign minister offered to dispel what he said were false allegations against the US and Ukraine in bilateral talks with the leadership in Kyiv.
According to the Ukrainian military, it has shot down hundreds of Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. It is assumed that Russia has ordered 2,400 such drones. Iran has good relations with Russia. In order to neutralize Western sanctions, Tehran is appealing to China and Russia in particular for economic and military cooperation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the use of Iranian drones by Russia as a declaration of bankruptcy for the Russian military.
