Iran's foreign minister confirmed for the first time on Saturday that his country supplied Russia with drones, stressing that the transfer occurred before Moscow's assault on Ukraine, which has seen Iranian-made drones divebomb Kyiv.
The remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian come after months of conflicting messages from Iran over the arms shipment, while Russia launches drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets.
“We gave a limited number of drones to Russia months before the Ukraine war,” Amirabdollahian told reporters after a meeting in Tehran.
However, Amirabdollahian stated that Iran was unaware of the usage of its drones in Ukraine. He stated that Iran was still committed to ending the crisis.
Previously, Iranian officials had denied arming Russia in its war on Ukraine. Just earlier this week, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani called the allegations “totally unfounded” and reiterated Iran’s position of neutrality in the war. The US and its Western allies on the Security Council have called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to investigate if Russia has used Iranian drones to attack civilians in Ukraine.
The remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian come after months of conflicting messages from Iran over the arms shipment, while Russia launches drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and civilian targets.
“We gave a limited number of drones to Russia months before the Ukraine war,” Amirabdollahian told reporters after a meeting in Tehran.
However, Amirabdollahian stated that Iran was unaware of the usage of its drones in Ukraine. He stated that Iran was still committed to ending the crisis.
Previously, Iranian officials had denied arming Russia in its war on Ukraine. Just earlier this week, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani called the allegations “totally unfounded” and reiterated Iran’s position of neutrality in the war. The US and its Western allies on the Security Council have called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to investigate if Russia has used Iranian drones to attack civilians in Ukraine.
