Iran rejects US claims; denies supplying drones and other arms to Russia amid war

Iran has rejected the US claims that Tehran was planning to hand over Russia with several hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones with the capability of carrying arms. Without confirming the sale of military equipment to Russia, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian assured that Tehran was avoiding any moves that would lead to an escalation in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

In an interview with La Republica newspaper published Wednesday, Amir-Abdollahian said, “We have various forms of cooperation with Russia, including in the sphere of defence, but we are not helping either side involved in the [Ukrainian] conflict because we are certain that it should be concluded."

"I think that currently, the problem is elsewhere - some Western countries, including the US, are manufacturing arms and trying to sell their products. We are trying to avoid any actions that may lead to an escalation. We are working on stopping this war”, he said while weighing in on the remarks made by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Earlier, on Monday, Sullivan had said that the White House believes Russia was seeking Iran’s assistance to provide Moscow with “hundreds” of drones to use in Ukraine. However, the US National Security Adviser had said that it was unclear if such an exchange had already taken place between Iran and Russia. He said that US had “information” that indicates that Iran is readying to train the Russian army to use such military equipment as soon as this month. 

“Our information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline,” Sullivan told reporters Monday.

Sullivan’s revelation regarding Iran and Russia comes as President Joe Biden readies for a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, where Tehran's nuclear program and other such activities in the region were expected to be discussed. 

Biden to kickstart first trip to Middle East

On Wednesday, Biden is set to leave for the first visit to the Middle East of his presidency with the main task of assuring both Israel and Saudi Arabia that the US is committed to preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power and stemming tensions in the region, according to AP. He has scheduled a three-day stop in Israel where officials say Iran is rapidly emerging its nuclear program. It is to mention here that US President Biden made his administration’s key priority to revive the Iran nuclear deal, brokered by ex-American President Barack Obama in 2015. 

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