For the first time, Iran acknowledged that it had provided drones to Russia, but the country’s foreign minister insisted that the transfer of UAVs had occurred before Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine. Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign minister of Iran, said as much in a statement.
Iran claims it supplied drones to Russia before the war
A few months before the Ukraine War, “We gave Russia a limited number of drones,” he said. Nevertheless, the foreign minister asserts that Tehran was unaware of the use of drones against Ukraine.
Abdullahian said that if Kyiv has “any documents” indicating the use of Iranian drones by Russia, “they should provide them to us”.
If it is established that Russia used Iranian drones in its war with Ukraine, the minister declared, “We will not be indifferent to this issue.”
Additionally, the Iranian Foreign Minister stated that Moscow will not receive any missiles from Tehran on November 14.
The covert supply of Iranian drones to Russia was revealed in late August
On August 30, it came to light that Iran is a covert supplier of attack drones to Russia for use in the war with Ukraine.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry denied providing kamikaze drones to Russia on October 5. Later, Dmytro Kuleba warned Iran of the consequences that could result from a decision to support Russia.
Iran is seeking help for its nuclear program in exchange – US
US intelligence officials stated on November 4 that they believe Iran is looking to Russia for assistance in boosting its nuclear weapons program. Russian and Iranian cooperation in the nuclear field will be prevented at all costs, according to the National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.
EU adopted sanctions against Iran for drones supply to Russia
The European Union adopted new sanctions against Iran for combat drone delivery to Russia, which is at war against Ukraine.
Why Iranian version is implausible?
Despite the Iranian declaration, the chronology of the events on the battlefield does not seem to support this version. Russia only started using Iranian attack drones in the war in September. Why then didn’t Moscow employ drones before while losing battles in the war if it had it? The Iranian declaration seems to be a very awkward attempt to find a justification for this wrongdoing knowing that it cannot deny anymore that Russia obtained its drones.
Iranian advisors spotted in the war in Ukraine
Furthermore, Iran sent its military advisors to instruct Russian troops on how to use its combat drones, according to Ukrainian intelligence. Kyiv stated that the Iranian government also intends to send a new group of advisors to Russia to train Russian troops in the use of Iranian surface-to-surface missiles and a brand-new class of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), called the “Arash-2.” Their deliveries are expected to start soon.
Read also: 10 Iranian instructors killed in Ukraine war
A group of advisers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also left Iran for Dzhankoy, in the occupied Crimea, where they will instruct the Russian invading troops on how to utilize “Shahed-136” and “Mohajer-6” drones to strike Ukrainian cities.
Using Iranian-made drones Russia destroyed important parts of the energy infrastructure of Ukraine.
Read also: EU approved sanctions against Iran over drones supply to Russia
