Russian officials visit Iran to see the drones
The United States earlier this week said it has information showing that Iran is scheduling to supply Russia with up to several hundred drones, including some that are capable weapons, and that Tehran is prepared to train the Russian forces to use them. The Iranian foreign minister denied this.
“We assess that an official Russian delegation recently received a showcase of UAVs capable of attacking Iranians … As far as we know, this is the first time that a Russian delegation has visited this airport for such a showcase,” Sullivan said.
The statement included satellite images from June 8 showing Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) “that the Russian government delegation saw that day.” He said similar equipment was shown for a second Russian visit to the airport on July 5th.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, dismissed US allegations of Iranian drones being sent to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine as baseless.
Iran, which has supplied UAVs to its allies in the Middle East, on Friday declared its first naval division for carrying drones in the Indian Ocean as US President Joe Biden visits the Middle East.
Biden met with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and discuss integrating missile and defense capabilities in the region to combat Iranian drone and missile strikes in the Middle East.
“Russia is actually betting on Iran and we are betting on a more integrated, more stable, more peaceful and prosperous Middle East region,” a senior US administration official told reporters on Saturday.
