The White House said Thursday that Iranian soldiers are “on the ground in Crimea” to help Russian forces carry out attacks in Ukraine using Iranian-made drones.
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“Today we can confirm that Russian soldiers based in Crimea operated Iranian drones, using them to carry out attacks in Ukraine, including in Kyiv in recent days,” a National Security Council spokesman said. John Kirby of the President of the United States.
We believe that Iranian military personnel have landed in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” he added. “I don’t have the number of Iranians in Crimea,” he said, implying that they are still on the ground with Russian forces.
“Russia has acquired dozens of drones so far and will continue to acquire them,” the spokesman continued, adding that the US is concerned that Russia is now seeking to acquire Iran’s conventional weapons, such as surface-to-surface missiles. In Ukraine.
Mr. Kirby clarified.
“Tehran is now directly involved on the ground,” he stressed.
“The United States will do everything to detect, prevent and combat these arms exports,” he added. “We will continue to enforce sanctions against arms sales from both Russia and Iran.”
