Iran, Russia reject drone claims as ‘political show’
The Iranian and Russian ambassadors to the United Nations rejected claims by the U.S. representative about Moscow’s use of Iranian combat drones in the Ukraine conflict as baseless.
Tehran slammed the anti-Iran action by the U.S., Ukraine, and three European countries as “a political show aimed at affecting” the UN chief’s report on Iran abiding by its commitments under the nuclear deal, IFP reported.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield claimed that her country had ‘released further information’ that Tehran had provided ‘hundreds of one-way attack Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)’, and insisted that Ukraine and the UK had also provided ‘evidence’ that Iranian drones had been recovered by Kyiv.
“Russia has not only procured hundreds of Mohajer and Shahed series UAVs from Iran in clear violation of Resolution 2231 but it is also now working with Iran to produce these weapons inside Russia,” she alleged.
“Russia has been using these UAVs in recent weeks to strike Kyiv, destroy Ukrainian infrastructure, and kill and terrorize Ukrainian civilians,” Thomas-Greenfield continued.
The diplomatic mission of Iran noted in a statement that the accusations against Iran aim to influence the six-month report of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the implementation of UNSC Resolution 2231 that authorized the Iran nuclear deal.
The statement also said the push by the U.S. and its allies is aimed at preventing the review of the report in June at the Security Council, which is chaired by the United Arab Emirates, and postponing it to the next month when the UK takes over the presidency of the council, adding that the move shows the spiteful intentions of those countries.
The Iranian diplomatic mission at the UN once again rejected claims that Iran is involved in the Ukraine war, stressing that the conflict is unwinnable and that all efforts must be aimed at ending it as soon as possible and resolving the root cause of the war in order to restore lasting peace in Ukraine.
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations also stressed that Kyiv has not given Moscow or Tehran an “iota of credible evidence” to prove the allegation.
Vassily Nebenzia condemned the U.S. version of events and accused Washington of attempting to ‘mislead’ the world.
“We categorically rejected it. These are baseless allegations and blatant attempts to deliberately mislead the international community. The arguments that our colleagues are providing do not withstand any scrutiny and simply lack any legal or technical grounds,” he said.
The Russian ambassador added that the ‘evidence’ was limited to ‘open source information and vague assessments’ with ‘incoherent photos of hardly identifiable debris’.
“It looks like they are not even sure themselves about the shreds of evidence they are providing, and it’s not about facts, as you see. Rather, it’s all about a fake political narrative,” he stated.
Both Iran and Russia have repeatedly denied claims that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to be used in the Ukraine war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in November dismissed media controversy over Iran’s alleged support for Russia in the Ukraine war, adding, however, that Tehran had provided Moscow with a limited number of drones months before the war in Ukraine.
He also gave assurance that Iran would not be indifferent if it is proven that Russia has used Iranian drones in the conflict.