Tajikistan rejects blogger’s claim that Iranian drones were produced on its territory

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Tajikistan on Sunday rejected a Ukrainian blogger’s claim that Iranian drones were produced on its territory and were later used by Russia in Ukraine.

“We refute the words of Ukrainian blogger Dmitry Gordon, voiced by him on October 28, 2022, during an online program about the production of drones ‘killing Ukrainians’ by the Iranian side on the territory of Tajikistan,” the Tajik Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Facebook.

The ministry further noted that it does not export military equipment to third countries.

“We recommend that Mr. Gordon carefully approach such comments in the future and check the accuracy of the information distributed,” it said.

It also added that Tajikistan has not received any requests from Ukraine on the issue.

Citing US and European officials, Western media outlets have reported that Iran has agreed to supply drones and surface-to-surface missiles to Russia intended for use in the Ukraine war.

Last week, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said that Washington has "abundant evidence" that Russia is using Iran-made military drones to attack Ukraine.

"The United States began warning in July that Iran was planning to transfer UAVs to Russia for use in Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine, and we now have abundant evidence that these UAVs are being used to strike Ukrainian civilians and critical civilian infrastructure," Price said in a statement.

Iran has rejected claims that it is supplying domestically manufactured drones to Russia.