Iran says ready for talks with Ukraine over claims of drone supplies to Russia

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) - Iran's foreign minister speaking to his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday expressed his country's readiness to hold bilateral talks on claims that Tehran is supplying Russia with drones to be used in the Ukraine war.

Dismissing the claims as "baseless," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Dmytro Kuleba over phone that Iran is ready to hold "technical meetings" with the participation of military experts from the two sides without any intermediaries, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Tensions are running high between the two countries amid claims made by Ukrainian and American officials about Iran supplying drones to Russia.

Some Western media outlets have in recent weeks published photos of what they say are remains of Iranian-made drones, Shahed-136 and Mohajer-6, allegedly used in Ukraine by Russian forces.

Reports have also been doing the rounds that Iran plans to supply surface-to-surface missiles to Russia, in addition to drones.

Iranian officials have, however, strongly rejected the claims, stressing that they have defense cooperation with Russia but are opposed to the war in Ukraine, which is now in its ninth month.

Amir-Abdollahian affirmed Iran's policy of "respect for territorial integrity" of the two countries and "not sending weapons to the warring parties," the statement said.

"Ukraine should be careful not to be influenced" by some European politicians, the top Iranian diplomat asserted, to which Kuleba said Kyiv "does not act under the influence of others."

Taking to Twitter after the call, Kuleba said he demanded Iran to "immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine."

The claims of drone supplies to Russia have also fueled tensions between Iran and the US, who have already been at loggerheads over the ongoing nationwide protests since the death of Sept. 16 Mahsa Amini, and stalemate over the revival of 2015 nuclear deal.

Last week, White House national security spokesman John Kirby alleged that Iran has deployed military experts in Russian-occupied Crimea to help launch drone attacks on Ukraine.

He claimed that Iran was now "directly engaged on the ground," and through the supply of drones to Russia, adding that the US will "pursue all means" to "expose, deter and confront Iran's provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people."

Last month, the US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Iranian firm Safran Airport Services, accusing it of coordinating the transfer of drones to Russia, and three other companies for the production of drones.

The European Union also added three Iranian individuals and one entity to the list of sanctions for "undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence" of Ukraine.

Even Britain announced sanctions against Iran, with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly calling Tehran's alleged involvement in the Ukraine war "deplorable."

Last week, Iran asked its citizens living in Ukraine to leave the country and advised Iranian nationals to refrain from traveling to the country "due to military escalation and increasing insecurity."