A report published recently by Sprotyv, a website affiliated with Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, shows the route used by Iran to deliver UAVs to Russia.
Ukraine accuses Iran of lying, warns of “consequences”
In a Facebook post on November 5, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine warned Iran that the “consequences” of supplying weapons to Russia would “greater than the benefits of Russia’s assistance”.
Kiev and its Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones in recent weeks to carry out attacks in Ukraine. Tehran has repeatedly denied those allegations. However, on November 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the UAV was sent to Russia before the military operation in Ukraine began in late February.
“Some Western countries have accused Iran of aiding Russia in the war in Ukraine by supplying Moscow with UAVs and missiles. The part regarding rockets is completely wrong. The UAV part is correct, we supplied a limited number of UAVs to Russia a few months before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out,” Amirabdollahian told reporters in Tehran.
Amirabdollahian did not say whether the UAVs supplied to Moscow were explosives.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian’s statement came after Iran’s earlier denials of supplying weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine, saying Tehran “has not and will not” do so.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later accused Iranian officials of lying about transferring UAVs to Russia.
“They decided to admit that they supplied the UAVs to Russia. But even in this admission they lie. We shoot down at least 10 Iranian UAVs every day, while Tehran claims that they are transferring to Russia a very small number and before the Russian operation began,” Zelensky stressed.
An adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine, Mikhail Podolyak, called for attacks to be carried out on Iranian businesses that he claims are manufacturing UAVs that are being transferred to Russia for use in special military operations in the country. neighbor.
“I believe there is no need [to impose] total sanctions or embargoes on Iran. I believe that it is possible to carry out targeted attacks against the production of UAVs or ballistic missiles…”, Podolyak told Ukrainian TV channel on November 5.
On November 1, the Intelligence Service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that “since September 13, when the Russian military first used Iran’s kamikaze (suicide UAV) against Ukraine, the defense forces of the Russian Federation, the defense forces of the Russian Federation, have been using Iran’s kamikaze drones for the first time. Ukraine has shot down more than 300 such UAVs.
Kiev also claims about 400 Iranian UAVs have been used by Russia in Ukraine, and Moscow has ordered about 2,000.
How does Iran transport UAVs to Russia?
A report published on November 3 by Sprotyv, a website affiliated with Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, shows the route used by Iran to deliver UAVs to Russia.
According to the report, Iran used four airlines, three of which are state-owned and one affiliated with the Iranian regime, as well as naval transport units using fleets of companies. company affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Three state-owned airlines are Iran Air – under the control of the Iranian Ministry of Infrastructure, Pouya Air – under the IRGC and Saha Airlines – under the Iranian Air Force. The other airline believed to be involved is Mahan Air, which has faced sanctions from the US Treasury Department.
The report also claims that shipping by sea passes through the Caspian Sea as well as other routes. In addition, no less than 200 disassembled UAVs are expected to arrive in Russia by sea in November.
Neither Russia nor Iran have commented on the report.
The report was released after the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine issued a request for information regarding Iran’s supply of weapons to Russia.
“We ask for any information that helps to identify the routes by which Iran can supply weapons to Russia and to identify the specific people responsible for this supply,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said. indicated in the notice.
Meanwhile, officials from a Western country that closely watches Iran’s weapons program also told CNN that Iran is preparing to send more strike drones, along with short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. , to Russia for use in a special military operation in Ukraine.
The officials also said that the most recent shipment from Iran to Russia included about 450 UAVs.
Tehran will “not turn a blind eye” if Russia uses Iranian UAVs in Ukraine
Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian said that Tehran had reached an agreement with Kiev to review evidence that Russia used Iranian drones in Ukraine.
“We have agreed with the Foreign Minister of Ukraine that they will provide us with any documents they have about Russia’s use of Iranian UAVs in Ukraine,” Amirabdollahian said, adding a delegation Iran had planned to meet Ukrainian officials in Europe to discuss the matter, but Kiev later canceled the meeting.
“We had planned for such a meeting two weeks ago in a European country, a military and political delegation went to that European country, but unfortunately at the last minute the Ukrainian delegation did not attend due to pressure from the US and some European countries, especially Germany,” said Amirabdollahian.
Iran’s foreign minister said he spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba last week and the two sides agreed to let Iran review any evidence Ukraine has in the coming days.
“Of course, if it is proven that Russia used Iranian UAVs in the war against Ukraine, we will not ignore this issue. Our position regarding the Russia-Ukraine issue is to end the conflict, bring the parties to the negotiating table and bring the displaced people back to their homes,” Amirabdollahian said.
