Amir-Abdollahian strongly denies drone allegations, says Tehran opposes war in Ukraine
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has once again rejected Western countries’ allegations of sending drones to Russia for use against Ukraine, saying Iran opposes the war in Ukraine as much as it opposes wars elsewhere.
Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a Friday phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has experienced an eight-year imposed war and is therefore against wars in Ukraine, Yemen, etc.,” he said, according to a readout of the call provided by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
“We have good relations with Russia and have had defense cooperation in the past, but our policy toward the war in Ukraine is to respect the territorial integrity of [both] countries, not to send weapons to the warring parties, and [calling for] an end to the war and displacement of people,” he said.
He added that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic is completely clear and is based on a single standard which is opposition to war.
Both Iran and Russia have repeatedly denied claims that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to be used in the war in Ukraine.
The anti-Iran claims first emerged in July, with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan alleging that Washington had received “information” indicating that the Islamic Republic was preparing to provide Russia with “up to several hundred drones, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline” for use in the war.
On Monday, the Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was ready to discuss the Western countries’ allegations about exporting drones to Russia in a joint session with Ukrainian officials.
Amir-Abdollahian reiterated those remarks on Friday, telling his Ukrainian counterpart that Tehran is ready to hold technical meetings with the presence of military experts between the two countries without the need for any intermediaries.
He also said Iran is ready to help the two sides reach a ceasefire.
“I believe that Ukraine should be careful not to be influenced by some extreme European politicians,” he added.
Kuleba, for his part, appreciated Iran’s position on not sending weapons to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.
He said it was important to hold talks between the technical-military delegations of the two countries.
He also said Kiev does not act under the influence of third parties.
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