(Washington) Iran will deliver “hundreds of drones” to Russia, which is stalling in the face of resistance from the Ukrainian army in the east of the country, the White House national security adviser said on Monday , Jake Sullivan.
“Our intelligence indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to deliver to Russia up to several hundred drones, including combat aircraft, in a very short time,” he explained during a press briefing to Washington.
This information “also indicates that Iran is preparing to train Russian forces in the use of these drones and the first training sessions were to begin at the beginning of July”, he added, stressing that he did not know if drones had already been delivered by Tehran.
Tehran reacted to these allegations on Tuesday, saying that “no particular development” had taken place in technological cooperation between Russia and Iran.
“Technological cooperation dates from before the events in Ukraine and there have been no particular developments in this field recently,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, who did not mention drones. .
He recalled that Tehran’s position is “clear and has been officially expressed many times”.
Iran, he said, is against the war in Ukraine and calls for “a political solution”, while denouncing the origin of this crisis due, according to Tehran, to the desire for expansion of the United States and NATO.
Iranian devices have already been used by Houthi rebels in Yemen “to attack Saudi Arabia”, Sullivan said.
Drones have played an important role since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, for reconnaissance operations, missile launches or bomb drops.
The invasion of Ukraine has “a huge cost” for Moscow, which has problems maintaining its armament as Russian forces encroach on the east of the country, he explained.
The United States last week announced $400 million in new military aid to Ukraine, including Himars multiple rocket launchers and sniper shells. Washington has already provided $6.9 billion in military assistance to Kyiv since the invasion began.
According to Joe Biden’s adviser, “Russia has already largely missed its objectives in Ukraine” which were to “take the capital Kyiv, make Ukraine disappear as a country, eliminate Ukrainian identity and integrate Ukraine into the Russia”.
“The fundamental objective of our strategy is to put the Ukrainians in as strong a position as possible on the battlefield so that they are in a position of strength at the table in these negotiations when diplomacy arrives,” Sullivan explained. .
