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11-12-2022
WASHINGTON: The United States has accused Russia of providing advanced military assistance to Iran, including air defence systems, as it warned of deepening defence ties between Moscow and Tehran, with Russia using Iranian drones to hit targets in Ukraine.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby cited US intelligence assessments for the allegations, saying Russia was offering Iran “an unprecedented level of military and technical support that is transforming their relationship into a full-fledged defense partnership”.
Washington has previously condemned security cooperation between Iran and Russia but on Friday described an extensive relationship involving equipment such as helicopters and fighter jets as well as drones, with the latter items resulting in new US sanctions.
Kirby said Russia and Iran were considering setting up a drone assembly line in Russia for the Ukraine conflict, while Russia was training Iranian pilots on the Sukhoi Su-35 fighter, with Iran potentially receiving deliveries of the plane within the year.
“These fighter planes will significantly strengthen Iran’s air force relative to its regional neighbors,” Kirby said.
Western powers have accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine, as Moscow batters the country’s energy infrastructure in search of an advantage in the bloody conflict.
Kirby said the US would sanction three Russian-based entities active in “the acquisition and use of Iranian drones”.
The sanctions apply to the Russian Aerospace Forces, the 924th State Centre for Unmanned Aviation and the Command of the Military Transport Aviation.
“The United States will continue to use every tool at our disposal to disrupt these transfers and impose consequences on those engaged in this activity,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on the sanctions.
Last month, Tehran admitted it had sent drones to Russia but insisted they were supplied before Moscow’s Ukraine invasion.
‘Sordid deals’
The US also believes Iran is considering the sale of “hundreds of ballistic missiles” to Russia, Kirby said.
The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary James Cleverly took aim at the “sordid deals” between Moscow and Tehran, saying in a statement that Iran had sent drones to Russia in exchange for “military and technical support” from Moscow.
This “will increase the risk it poses to our partners in the Middle East and to international security,” Cleverly said, promising that “the UK will continue to expose this desperate alliance and hold both countries to account”.
For its part, Moscow has accused the West of supplying weapons to Ukraine that are ending up in the hands of bad actors, not only in Europe but also in Africa and the Middle East.
Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, referred to the recent comments by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari who said weapons and fighters from Ukraine were making their way to the Lake Chad region and helping violent groups.
Journalist Kristen Saloomey said the UK’s ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, did not directly address Nebenzya’s claims, which were made ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Friday, but stated that Ukraine had a right to defend itself from Russia. (Int’l News Desk)
