U.S. claims on Russia’s use of Iran drones contradictory

International Desk - IRAN DAILY

Kremlin: UAVs used in Ukraine are Russian-made

Although Iran officially denied sending military hardware to Russia, U.S. officials still insist that there is evidence of the use of Iranian drones by Russia against military and civilian targets in Ukraine.

In the latest example of such claims, U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said: “We’re in close touch with our allies and partners, including those in the United Nations, to address Iran’s dangerous proliferation of weapons to Russia.”

In response to the question if the U.S. believes that Iran is preparing to send additional weaponry, specifically short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, Patel said: “I’ve seen those reports, but I don’t have anything to offer on that.”

He also supported French and British “assessment that Iran’s supply of these UAVs to Russia is a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, and this is something that we agree with”.

Despite such claims, a high-ranking official in the Pentagon emphasized in an interview with Al Jazeera that “we cannot say with certainty that Russia used Iranian drones in the attacks on Kiev”.

Also on Tuesday, Russia rejected allegations concerning the use of Iranian drones in the war in Ukraine.

Asked whether Russia had used or purchased Iranian drones, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the drones that is used in the war are Russian.

“No, we do not have such information. The hardware that is used is Russian. You know that. It has Russian names. You can address all other questions to the Defense Ministry,” Peskov said.

The Western claim that Iran has violated Resolution 2231 comes as Tehran has categorically denied arms sales to Moscow.

However, military cooperation and even the sale of Iran's weapons to Russia or any other country does not run counter to UNSC Resolution 2231, as under the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran's arms embargo came to an end five years after the multilateral accord was signed.

U.S. efforts in the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo had failed, leading to a heavy legal and political defeat for Washington, because the resolution proposed by the Trump administration received only one yes vote from the Dominican Republic.