Tehran, Iran A day after Tehran categorically denied the charge, the US has increased its assertion that Iran intends to transfer "hundreds" of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.
Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor for the US, reaffirmed on Saturday what he had said earlier in the week: Iran wants to give Moscow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can carry weapons.He gave US-based CNN satellite images that allegedly revealed a Russian delegation had visited an airstrip in the center of Kashan at least twice in the previous month.
The Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones, both of which are equipped to carry precision-guided missiles, are said to have been displayed to the Russian delegation.
Also this week, according to Sullivan, Iran is educating Russian troops on how to use drones, though it is unknown if any drones have already been sold to Moscow.In a phone chat with his Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kuleba on Friday, Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, refuted the US assertions and stated that Iran will not take any action to prolong hostilities.The statements, according to Amirabdollahian, were made just before US President Joe Biden started his tour of the Middle East, which included a concerted campaign against Iran as a main objective.
Amirabdollahian said to Kuleba, "The fundamental and unequivocal stance of the Islamic republic in opposing war and advocating a stop to war is not based on a double standard like some Western countries. Iran likewise condemns the conflict in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Palestine.
A trilateral meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to address the Syrian situation is scheduled to take place on Tuesday in Tehran between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The leaders are anticipated to meet separately as well, and it is said that Putin will speak with Ali Hosseini Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.Turkey has given Ukraine access to its Bayraktar drones, which it has been using in its conflict with Russia.
Iran has expressed its desire for an end to the violence in Ukraine through discussion ever since it began in February, but it has refrained from criticizing Russia and instead has pointed the finger at NATO's expansion in Europe as the main cause of the conflict.In March, US authorities asserted that Russia had appealed to China for assistance in assisting the battle in Ukraine. There is yet no proof that Chinese weapons have been utilized in Ukraine.
In addition, Sullivan told reporters in late May that the US had not found any proof that China had helped Russia with the invasion financially or militarily.
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