Iranian top diplomat denies selling drones to Russia

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has not confirmed the sale of military equipment to Russia, including unmanned aerial vehicles, assuring that Tehran avoids any steps that may result in an escalation in Ukraine in his interview with La Repubblica newspaper published on Wednesday, TASS reports.

“We have various forms of cooperation with Russia, including in the sphere of defense, 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,” the Iranian top diplomat said commenting on remarks by US Presidential National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Iran’s plans to send drones to Russia.

On Monday, the US official claimed that Iran was planning to hand over to Russia up to several hundreds of the unmanned aerial vehicles, including those capable of carrying armaments. Additionally, according to his information, Iran was planning to train Russian forces to use these drones with the first stages of training beginning as early as July. Sullivan did not provide any proof for his assertions.