Iran will not be “indifferent” if Moscow uses its drones in Ukraine

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Monday that his country will not be indifferent if it is proven that Russia is using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Russia had ordered “about 2,000 Iranian Shaheds”, suicide drones, to support its invasion of Ukraine.

“In the war in Ukraine (…) we are against arming both Russia and Ukraine,” Amir-Abdullahian said in video reports released by local media.

“We are not supplying weapons or drones to Russia to use in the war against Ukraine,” he said, repeating earlier denials while acknowledging security cooperation between Tehran and Moscow.

The Iranian minister reaffirmed his country’s willingness to hold direct talks with Ukraine on the matter, stressing that he had sent a message to the diplomatic chief of the European Union (EU).

“I told Mr. Porell that if it becomes clear to us that Russia has used Iranian drones against Ukraine, we will certainly not be indifferent to this matter,” he said.

In recent weeks, Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Moscow of using Iranian-made drones in attacks on Ukraine.

Iran has denied the allegations, while the Kremlin has argued that the West is trying to “put pressure” on Tehran.

Last week, the EU and UK announced new sanctions against Iran, targeting three generals and an arms company “responsible for supplying Russia with suicide drones” for bombing Ukraine.

Earlier on Monday, Foreign Affairs Spokesman Nasser Khanani in Tehran rejected US claims that Iranian military personnel were stationed in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow.

“We strongly condemn these allegations aimed at diverting people’s attention from (the US’s) subversive role in the war in Ukraine (…) through the massive export of arms and equipment,” he stressed.

In September, Kiev decided to severely cut diplomatic ties with Tehran over alleged arms deliveries to Moscow.