On November 5, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, has advocated for military strikes on drone production sites located in Iran. President Zelensky echoed Podolyak’s belligerent rhetoric the following day, demanding Iran be “punished” for allegedly supplying drones to Russia, The Grayzone reported.
Kyiv adopted its hostile posture towards Tehran after claiming Russia deployed Iranian-supplied drones to strike Ukrainian civilian infrastructure throughout much of October.
In an interview with a Ukrainian news outlet on November 5, Podolyak argued that the response to Iran supplying Russia with drones should not be limited to sanctions or even a total trade embargo. “It seems to me that it should not be sanctions or even an embargo, yes a total embargo. It seems to me that it would be possible to carry out specific strikes on the production of drones, ballistic missiles, and so on.”
Both Iran and Russia have repeatedly rejected claims that Tehran has provided Moscow with drones to be used in the war in Ukraine.
Iran has responded to the allegations by Ukraine and its Western patrons by acknowledging that it supplied Russia’s military with drones prior to the start of the war in Ukraine.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a phone talk with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba also rejected Western countries’ allegations of sending drones to Russia for use against Ukraine, saying that Ukraine should be careful not to be influenced by some extreme European politicians.
He said that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic is completely clear and is based on a single standard which is opposition to the war, adding that Tehran is ready to hold technical meetings with the presence of military experts between the two countries without the need for any intermediaries.
Russia, for its part, has officially rejected using Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.
Allegations by Kyiv and Western countries that Iran is providing unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia are fake news, Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said at a UN Security Council meeting.
ZZ/PR
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