The United States government said Monday that Iran has supplied Russia with more than 400 “drones” since August last year, most of them the Shahed model, which Moscow is using in the war in Ukraine.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Washington sees indications that Iran and Russia are “expanding” their defense cooperation in an “unprecedented” way.
“Iran remains Russia’s largest military supporter and has already supplied artillery and tank ammunition for use in Ukraine”Kirby said.
The spokesman explained that most of the 400 Iranian “drones” supplied by the Islamic Republic to Russia were used against critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
At the same time, Kirby stressed that Moscow is sending weapons to Tehran and recalled that Iran announced last month that it had signed an agreement with Russia to purchase 35 Sukhoi fighter-bombers.
“Iran wants to buy more military equipment, including attack helicopters, radar and Yak 130 fighter jets”Kirby said.
The spokesman reiterated that the United States will continue to impose charges on those involved in sending Iranian military equipment to Russia for use in Ukraine and recalled that sanctions have already been imposed on Russians, Iranians and other actors involved in this activity are.
Kirby expected Washington to announce new sanctions against people and entities involved in arms sales between Russia and Iran in the coming days.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
