Russia seeks Iran drones for losses in Ukraine: White House

A senior US official said Tuesday that Russia’s plan to acquire hundreds of combat drones from Iran shows the urgent need for reinforcements following heavy casualties four months after invading Ukraine.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the deal, announced by the White House on Monday, also shows Iran’s willingness to support Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

But he said the delivery of the drones would not necessarily affect ongoing US attempts to negotiate a return to the 2015 six-party deal to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

“We want to continue to see a nuclear deal that takes Iran’s nuclear ambitions, at least its nuclear weapons ambitions, off the table,” Kirby said.

On Monday, the White House announced that Russia and Iran are rushing to strike a drone supply pact as Russian forces face stiff Ukrainian resistance in their push to tighten control of eastern and southern Ukraine.

“The Iranian government is preparing to make up to several hundred UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), including weapon-capable UAVs, available to Russia on an accelerated schedule,” Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, told reporters.

“Our information also suggests that Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use these UAVs, with the first training sessions scheduled to begin as early as July,” he said.

Kirby told CNN the drones can be used for both reconnaissance and ammunition delivery, and explained why the information was leaked.

“It was important to make it clear to the world that we know Russia needs these additional capabilities,” he said. “They are expanding their resources at an accelerated rate.”

Russian forces have suffered heavy losses in recent weeks, particularly at ammunition depots and command posts, after the United States and its allies began supplying longer-range precision weapons to Ukrainian forces, such as the Himars precision-guided missiles.

This could halt the Russian military’s ability to advance and increase the Ukrainian forces’ ability to push them back.

Iran responded Tuesday that there had been “no particular development” in technological cooperation with Russia after invading Ukraine in February.

Without specifically mentioning the drones, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said that cooperation with Russia “in the field of some modern technologies took place even before the war in Ukraine and there has not been any particular development in this regard recently “.

Tehran’s position on the war “is quite clear and has been officially stated many times,” he added.

Iran has claimed it opposes the war in Ukraine and is demanding a political solution, while blaming the US and NATO enlargement for the causes of the crisis.

“The American official’s (Sullivan) allegation comes because for years the US and Europeans have turned the occupying and invading countries, including the West Asia region, into a storehouse of their various deadly weapons,” Kanani added.

Sullivan said it’s not clear if Iran has already shipped drones to Russia.

He noted that the Iranian drones were being used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia.

Drones have played a crucial role on both sides of the war in Ukraine, from firing missiles from afar to dropping small bombs on targets and reconnaissance.

Ukrainian forces have had particular success using Turkish-made armed UAVs from Bayraktar, and the United States and other allies have provided Kyiv with many types of smaller drones.

“We have already delivered hundreds of UAVs to Ukraine. We’re in constant communication with them about their needs,” Kirby said.

Kirby stressed that the conflict cannot be simplified as a “drone-versus-drone war.”

“It depends on what these UAVs will be used for,” he said. “It’s not just about one skill. It’s really about all the skills together,” he added, mentioning the Himar systems.