The White House said Monday that Iran is lying when it says Russia is not using… Iranian drones to launch attacks on Ukraine.
White House spokeswoman Karen-Jean-Pierre told reporters that there was “extensive evidence of their use by Russia once morest both military and civilian targets,” adding that Tehran appeared to be considering selling more such weapons to Moscow.
She continued, “You all have also seen the reports this morning of what appears to be Iranian drone strike In the center of Kyiv. However, Iran is still lying regarding this.. They weren’t honest regarding this.”
The devastation caused by the strikes in Iranian rallies on Kyiv on Monday
For his part, US State Department spokesman Vidant Patel said Monday that the United States agreed with British and French assessments that Iran’s supply of drones to Russia violates UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
“Earlier today, our French and British allies assessed that Iran’s provision of these drones to Russia is a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. This is something we agree with,” he told reporters, referring to Iranian drones.
Ukraine has detected a series of Russian attacks using Iranian-made Shahed 136 drones in the past few weeks. Iran denies supplying Russia with drones, while the Kremlin made no comment.
An official said the US State Department had assessed that Iranian drones were used in a rush hour Monday morning attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Resolution 2231 endorsed the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, under which Tehran limited uranium enrichment activity with the lifting of international sanctions.
Under the resolution, the arms embargo on Iran remained in effect until October 2020. Despite US efforts under former President Donald Trump to extend the embargo, the Security Council refused to clear the way for Iran to resume arms exports.
However, Western diplomats said the decision still includes restrictions on missiles and their technologies that will last until October 2023 and include the export and purchase of advanced military systems such as drones.
“We believe that these drones that were transferred from Iran to Russia and used by Russia in Ukraine are among the weapons that will remain prohibited under Resolution 2231,” Patel said.
On Monday, the United States threatened to take action once morest companies and countries that cooperate with Iran’s drone program following Russia used them in deadly strikes on Kyiv.
Ukrainian police try to stop rallies in the sky of Kyiv on Monday
Patel told reporters:Any party that deals with Iran may have a relationship With drones, ballistic missile development, or arms flowing from Iran to Russia, they should be very careful and take the necessary precautions…the United States will not hesitate to use sanctions or take action once morest the perpetrators.”
He added that “Russia’s deepening of its alliance with Iran is something that the whole world should see as a major threat.”
Patel continued, quoting US intelligence information published earlier, that some of the Iranian drones sold to Russia are suspicious of defects.
He pointed out that sending these planes shows the “tremendous pressure” on Russia following the losses it incurred in Ukraine.
He added that Moscow is “frankly obliged to resort to unreliable countries such as Iran in order to obtain supplies and equipment.”
