Iran again denies drones delivery to Russia, says pursues diplomacy to help end Ukraine war

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has once again rejected in the strongest terms the Western claims of Iran’s delivery of weapons and drones to Russia to be used against Ukraine, saying Tehran has had defense cooperation with Moscow for long and pursues a resolution of the conflict through dialog and diplomacy.

In an interview with the Croatian daily newspaper Večernji list released on Tuesday, Nasser Kan’ani elaborated on Iran’s stance regarding the months-long Russian war in Ukraine.

“Iran strongly opposes war and the arming of either side in the Ukrainian conflict,” Kan’ani said in the interview. “We have told the Ukrainian officials to present their evidence, if any, regarding the use of Iranian drones in the war in Ukraine. Iran has had defense cooperation with Russia for many years but we did not support the war against Ukraine.”

The spokesman also stressed that the Islamic Republic was making efforts to stop the conflict in Ukraine through dialog and diplomacy between the two warring sides.

Kan’ani called on the European governments to be realistic and referred to the Russian government’s rejection of the anti-Iran claims.

The Kremlin’s spokesman, he said, clearly stated that Russia had used its domestically-manufactured drones in the Ukraine conflict. He also pointed to a report by Al Jazeera news channel citing a senior US Department official as saying that the Pentagon cannot confirm the drones used by Russia to target Ukraine were made by Iran.

“We are against war and we strongly reject the delivery of drones and military aid to Russia for use in the war with Ukraine,” the Iranian diplomat underlined. “We have had defense cooperation with Russia for many years and this has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. We did not support the war against Ukraine and we want to solve the problem through dialog. This is our fundamental policy.”

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.

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian 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 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.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has experienced an eight-year imposed war and is therefore against wars in Ukraine, Yemen, etc.,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

“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 added.

Amir-Abdollahian earlier said Tehran was ready to discuss the Western countries’ allegations about exporting drones to Russia in a joint session with Ukrainian officials, calling for technical meetings with the presence of military experts between the two countries without the need for any intermediaries.

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