Iran has rejected US accusations that its military is in occupied Crimea to help Russia launch kamikaze drones against Ukraine.
"We categorically reject this news," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters when asked about the White House statement.
According to Kanani, "Washington seeks to distract public opinion from the destructive role they are playing in the war in Ukraine, standing on one side of the conflict and actively exporting weapons and equipment to Ukraine."
On October 20, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that Iranian instructors and technical infrastructure workers are in Crimea to assist Russia in its drone operations. Great Britain and the European Union have already imposed sanctions against Iran precisely because of the supply of drones to Russia, which are used to attack Ukraine. Tehran has traditionally denied that it supplies drones to the Russian Federation.
- Russian troops are currently attacking Ukraine with Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones and using Mohajer-6 multi-purpose UAVs in the war. Defense forces of Ukraine have learned to shoot down most attacking drones. Since the first downing of the Iranian Shahed-136 on the territory of Ukraine, the Air Defense Forces have destroyed 223 such drones.
- The Washington Post newspaper wrote on October 16 that Iran is ready to transfer the Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar surface-to-surface missiles to the Russian Federation. These are short-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets at a distance of 300 and 700 kilometers.
- On October 18, Reuters, citing sources, wrote that Iran refused to sell more powerful Arash kamikaze drones to Russia so that the US would not get access to the technology.