US and allies urge UN to investigate Iranian-made drones sent to Russia

Ambassadors from the US, UK, France and Albania say drone transfers violate Security Council Resolution 2231

A drone is carried on a truck in front of a portrait of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an army parade near Tehran. AP

The US and its western allies urged the UN on Friday to investigate the supply of Iranian-made drones being sent to Russia for its war in Ukraine in breach of a Security Council resolution.

Ambassadors from the US, UK, France and Albania say the drone transfers violate the 2015 UN Security Council Resolution 2231 the endorsed the Iran nuclear deal that put limits on Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

“That resolution prohibits all countries, including permanent members of the Security Council from transferring these types of weapons from Iran absent advance Security Council approval,” said US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

“Approval was, of course, not given” for the sales, she told reporters ahead of a Security Council session on the situation in Ukraine.

Expressing concern over Russia’s deepening military co-operation with Iran, she said that Ukraine, the US, France, UK, and other countries have reported these breaches to the UN and supplied the world body with additional information and analysis.

Russia has not only purchased hundreds of drones from Iran for use in the war in Ukraine, but it is also “now working with Iran to produce these weapons inside Russia”, she said.

During the Security Council session, the US ambassador asked why experts have not yet been sent to Ukraine “to review evidence of these weapons' origins”. She said the UN “must act with urgency” against this threat.

A US intelligence report released earlier this month accused Iran of providing Russia with materials to build a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow. US officials said the factory could be operational by early next year.

Russia's ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya expressed scepticism over the allegations.

“These claims lack foundation and are clear attempts to manipulate the global community,” he said.

“The arguments put forth by our counterparts fail to withstand scrutiny and lack legal or technical basis. Their assumptions rely solely on ambiguous assessments and publicly available information.

“The provided photographs of unidentified debris from alleged UAVs are inconclusive, indicating a lack of confidence in their own evidence.”

The European Council on Friday its 11th package of restrictive measures on 87 entities for directly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, including “four Iranian entities manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles [drones] and providing them to Russia”.

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