TEHRAN (Reuters) – Tehran said on Saturday that when Ukrainian President Zelensky urged Iran to stop supplying drones to Russia, his remarks were meant to attract more weapons and financial aid from the West.
In a video address, President Zelensky called on Iran to prevent it from sliding into the “dark side of history” by delivering drones to Moscow.
Iran initially denied supplying Russia with Shahid drones, but later said it had supplied a few before the conflict began. Ukraine claims drones played a key role in Russia’s attacks on cities and infrastructure.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said, “The Ukrainian president’s repetition of delusional claims against the Islamic Republic of Iran is anti-Iranian propaganda aimed at attracting as much arms and financial aid as possible from the West and media wars.”
Kanani said Ukraine has refused to allow an independent investigation into these allegations.
Russia has stepped up military cooperation with Iran since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It has admitted to using Iranian drones, but is now trying to increase its own production.
Mr Zelensky said in a speech Wednesday: “Here’s a simple question. What’s your interest in being an accomplice in Russian terrorism?
“The fact that your Shahid is terrorizing Ukraine every night only means that the Iranian people are being pushed deeper and deeper into the dark side of history,” he said.
