Tehran, Iran – Iran for the first time confirmed that it sold drones to Russia, but said this happened “months” before the start of the war in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters after an event in Tehran on Saturday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdolakhian referred to claims by Western officials that Iranian drones were handed over to Moscow for its invasion and that surface-to-surface missiles may also be on the way. “Their comments on the missile part are completely wrong and the drone part is correct. We gave a limited number of drones to Russia months before the war in Ukraine,” Amirabdollahian said. Iranian officials have previously said on multiple occasions that Tehran had “defense” cooperation with Russia but had not supplied the Kremlin with weapons “intended to be used in the war in Ukraine.” Amirabdolakhian reiterated on Saturday that Iran has not been a supporter of any side in the war and is ready to talk with Ukraine. “We have stressed to Ukrainian officials that if there is evidence of Russia’s use of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war, they should present it to us,” he said.
“We will not be indifferent”
According to the diplomat, an Iranian political and military delegation traveled to an unnamed European country two weeks ago to hold a meeting with their Ukrainian counterparts, but they refused to attend “at the 11th hour” as a result of pressure from the United States and Europe . , especially Germany. “They had told the Ukrainian side that we want to impose sanctions on Iran over the issue of drones, and now you want to participate in a meeting with the Iranians in Europe and have coffee with them,” he said. Amirabdollahian said Iran still expects Ukraine to present the evidence in the coming days and “if it is proven to us that Russia used Iranian drones in the Ukraine war, we will not be indifferent to it.” The US and European Union have imposed sanctions on some Iranian entities and officials over drone sales to Russia, as Ukrainian officials have repeatedly condemned Tehran and downgraded diplomatic relations. Moscow has said the unmanned aerial vehicles it has used in the war are Russian-made and has warned the United Nations not to investigate the use of drones in Ukraine. Iran has also denounced Western efforts to use UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which underpins the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, to push the UN to investigate the matter.
