Issued on: Modified:
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday said that Tehran sent “a limited number of drones” to Russia “months before the war in Ukraine”, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported. Amir-Abdollahian denied accusations that Iran has supplied missiles to Moscow. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments. All are in Paris time (GMT + 1).
12:02pm: Iran admits sending drones to Russia ‘before the war in Ukraine’
Iran admitted for the first time on Saturday that it has sent drones to Russia, but insisted they were supplied to its ally before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We supplied Russia with a limited number of drones months before the war in Ukraine,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said, quoted by the official news agency IRNA.
Ukraine 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 these claims.
>> Ukraine faces new Russian threat from Iran-made ‘kamikaze’ drones
Iran has repeatedly denied that it has been supplying arms to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.
“In a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian foreign minister last week, we agreed that if there was evidence (of Moscow’s use of Iranian drones), he would provide it to us,” Amir-Abdollahian said.
“If the Ukrainian side keeps its promise, we can discuss this issue in the coming days and we will take into account their evidence,” he added.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
For all the latest health News Click Here
