Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdolahian said a “small number” of drones had been handed over to Russia a few months before Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine on February 24. In Iran’s most detailed response to date on the drones, Amirabdollahian denied that Tehran continued to supply drones to Moscow. “This fuss made by some Western countries that Iran provided missiles and drones to Russia to help the war in Ukraine – the missile part is completely wrong,” the official IRNA news agency said. “The drone part is real and we provided Russia with a small number of drones months before the war in Ukraine,” he said. In recent weeks Ukraine has reported an increase in drone attacks on civilian infrastructure, mainly targeting power plants and dams, using Iranian Shahed-136 drones. Russia denies that its forces used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine. Last month, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters that Iran had promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles, in addition to more drones. The official IRNA news agency quoted Amirabdollahian as saying that Tehran and Kyiv agreed to discuss allegations of Iranian drone use in Ukraine two weeks ago, but the Ukrainians did not show up for the agreed meeting. “We agreed with Ukraine’s foreign minister to provide us with documents that show Russia used Iranian drones in Ukraine,” Amirabdollahian said, but the Ukrainian delegation pulled out of the planned meeting at the last minute. In a Facebook response, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said Amirabdolakhian was spreading “hints about alleged denial on the Ukrainian side” and added that “Ukraine is taught to trust only facts.” Iran’s foreign minister reiterated that Tehran “would not remain indifferent” if it was proven that Russia had used Iranian drones in the war against Ukraine. The European Union last month agreed new sanctions on Iran over its drone deliveries to Russia, and Britain sanctioned three Iranian military personnel and a defense manufacturer for supplying Russia with drones to attack civilian targets and infrastructure goals in Ukraine. Report from the Gulf newsroom. Additional reporting by Dan Peleschuk. Editor: Jon Boyle Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
