Iranian government says ‘small number’ of equipment delivered; Zelensky says he drops dozens a day
The Iranian government admitted on Saturday (November 6, 2022) that it had delivered a “small number” of drones to Russia. However, he said the equipment was delivered “months before” the invasion of Ukraine and is no longer being delivered to the country.
“This rumor by some Western countries that Iran has supplied missiles and drones to Russia to help with the war in Ukraine, the missile part, is completely false,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told the IRNA news agency.
He added: “The drone part is true. We supplied Russia with a small number of drones months before the war in Ukraine.” This is the first time Tehran has admitted to selling war artifacts to Moscow.
Iran’s Shahed136 drones are known as “kamikaze drones” because they are unmanned aerial vehicles that selfdestruct if attacked. Because they fly low, they don’t activate the bombproof sirens.
Ahead of Amirabdollahian’s statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kiev forces shoot down dozens of Iranian Shahed136 drones every day.
“If Iran continues to lie about the obvious, it means the world will make even more efforts to investigate terrorist cooperation between the Russian and Iranian regimes,” Zelenskyy said in a video released on Friday (Nov ) was published on Telegram.
US special envoy to Iran Robert Malley agreed with Zelenskyy. “They transferred dozens [de drones] just this summer and they have military personnel in occupied Ukraine helping Russia deploy them,” he told IRNA.
Citing Amirabdollahian, the news agency claimed that Iran and Ukraine had agreed to discuss the alleged use of Iranian drones by the Russians, but the Ukrainians did not take part in the talks.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko denied it. “Tehran must realize that the consequences of complicity in the crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine will far outweigh the benefits of Russian support,” Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
The Kremlin denies using Iranian drones in Ukraine.