Russia in possession of ‘weapons grade’ Iranian drones: White House

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

Iran has maintained that, while it collaborates with Russia in the defense sector, it has no intention of helping either side in the Ukraine war

(Photo credit: Iranian Army/West Asia News Agency/Handout via REUTERS)

Officials in the government of US President Joe Biden claim that Russia is now in possession of “weapons-capable Iranian drones.”

These allegedly include the Mohajer-6, which can carry four precision-guided missiles, and the Shahed series, which can also carry missiles and stay airborne for extended periods of time.

According to the unnamed officials who spoke with western media outlets, the White House believes these drones will soon be deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine to carry out “missile strikes, surveillance, and electronic warfare.”

The officials say they expect Tehran to deliver “hundreds of drones to Russia,” as Moscow works to counter the constant stream of weapons and funds being funneled by the US and its allies into Kiev.

Last month, the White House announced they had information showing that “the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs … on an expedited timeline.”

The White House then provided satellite images to CNN that purportedly showed a Russian delegation visiting an airfield in the Iranian province of Kashan.

However, days later, US officials retracted the claim, saying: “We’ve seen no indications of any sort of actual delivery and/or purchase of Iranian drones by the Russian Ministry of Defense.”

In the wake of these accusations by Washington, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian insisted his country opposes the war in Ukraine.

“We have various types of collaboration with Russia, including in the defense sector,” Amir-Abdollahian told Italian news outlet La Repubblica in early July, adding: “But we won’t help either of the sides involved in this war because we believe that it [the war] needs to be stopped.”

“We will avoid any action that could lead to an escalation, but we will work to stop the war,” Tehran’s top diplomat went on to stress.

Since the start of the NATO-instigated war in Ukraine, Iran and Russia have bolstered their cooperation bonds across several fields.

Last week, entities in the two countries started conducting trade in their national currencies for the first time, with the transactions reportedly handled by the Russian Central Bank’s Mir payment system.

This came just weeks after Russia successfully launched Iran’s Khayyam Earth observation satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.