White House: Russian officials visited Iran to inspect combat drones for war against Ukraine .
Jake Sullivan ,
KYIV. UkraineGate. 16. July . 2022 | Political News .
The White House reports that in recent weeks, Russian officials have visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice to inspect combat drones it wants to purchase for use in the ongoing war in Ukraine .
Details
The administration released the intelligence as US President Joe Biden is set to meet with the leaders of six Gulf states, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, for a regional summit on Saturday. Biden is expected to deliver his “major statement” outlining his vision for the Middle East as he wraps up the final leg of a four-day trip designed to strengthen the US position and rally the region against Iran.
Iran demonstrated the drones to Russian officials at Kashan Airfield on June 8 and July 15, according to the White House.
The administration also published satellite images of Shahed-191 and Shahed-129 drones, which were displayed and flying at the airfield when the transport plane of the Russian delegation was there.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement that the administration has “information that the Iranian government is preparing to provide several hundred UAVs to Russia.”
“We appreciate that the official Russian delegation recently had a demonstration of Iranian attack-capable UAVs. We are publishing these images, taken in June, which show the Iranian UAVs that the Russian government delegation saw that day,” Sullivan added in a statement.
“This indicates Russia’s continued interest in acquiring Iranian UAVs capable of attacking,” he noted.
Sullivan said U.S. officials believe the June visit “was the first time a Russian delegation has visited this airfield for such a demonstration.”
Addition
Biden is seeking to strengthen coordination among allies in the Middle East in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and what the current conflict means for the region. Many countries in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, are seriously concerned about Iran’s malicious activities in the region.
The countries participating in the summit have a different position from the US regarding the introduction of sanctions against the Russian Federation, and this issue is a key foreign policy priority for the Biden administration. In any case, the UAE has turned into a kind of financial haven for Russian billionaires and their yachts worth many millions. Egypt remains open to Russian tourists.
Before
US President’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that Russia is asking Iran to provide it with “hundreds” of combat drones for use in the war against Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran responded to the White House’s statement about the sale of drones to Russia for the war in Ukraine, stating that Tehran had cooperated with Moscow even before the war and so far nothing concrete has happened in this area.
After that, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba , discussed with his Iranian counterpart the issue of military aid to Russia and its sale of stolen Ukrainian grain.
Source: Ukrgate
