The United States, France and the United Kingdom have requested that the Thursday evening UN Security Council meeting be held behind closed doors to discuss Iran’s alleged sale of drones to Russia.
They noted that such a sale would be a violation of UN arms restrictions on Iran.
A drone is pictured over Kyiv on October 17 before buildings in the city were attacked. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky / AP / NTB
Both the European Union and the United States said they had evidence that Iran supplied Russia with Shahed-136 drones.
This is a type of drone referred to as cheap, and it explodes when it lands or hits its targets.
Ukrainian authorities claim that this type of drone killed five people in the capital, Kyiv, on Monday, in addition to causing damage to civilian infrastructure.
Fire crews are at the scene after a drone strike in Kyiv on October 17. Photo: Roman Hrytsyna / AP / NTB
More than 220 Iranian drones have been shot down over Ukraine in the past month, according to Ukrainian authorities, and images have emerged showing what should be able to connect the drones to Iran.
Claims that the drones are Russian
But Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters outside the Security Council on Thursday evening, Norwegian time, that it was about “unfounded accusations and conspiracy theories.” He said Russian words written on the drones.
– He told reporters that the drones used by the Russian army in Ukraine are made in Russia.
– I recommend not to underestimate the technological capabilities of the Russian UAV industry, he said.
But an Iranian diplomat told the news agency earlier this week Reuters That the state sells drones to Russia.
Iran sells drones
– The diplomat told the Russian news agency that the Russians asked Iran for more drones, as well as Iranian ballistic missiles of the Fateh and Zollfager type.
According to Reuters, an agreement on arms sales was concluded on October 6, when Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and a number of high-ranking officials visited Moscow. An Eastern European diplomat also revealed this to the news agency.
The Iranian diplomat denied to Reuters that such transfers violated a 2015 UN Security Council resolution, which Western diplomats have claimed such transfers violate a 2015 UN Security Council resolution.
– Where and how weapons are used is not a seller’s problem. We are not taking sides in the Ukraine war, as the West does. “We want to end the crisis through diplomatic means,” the diplomat said.
Guterres warns
On the occasion of the Security Council meeting Thursday night in Norwegian time, Polyansky warned against any UN investigation on the ground in Ukraine related to UN sanctions imposed on Iran.
The team does not have a mandate to conduct investigations. It is not part of the sanctions committee. So something like that would definitely be unprofessional and political.
– If the UN Secretariat or Secretary-General Antonio Guterres goes ahead with the plan, we will have to reconsider our cooperation with them, which will not be in anyone’s interest.
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Irvani, dismissed what he described as baseless allegations about the sale of drones to Russia. He says Tehran wants a peaceful solution to the war.
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