Iran preparing to supply Russia with drones – White House

JERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERS, TOVAH LAZAROFF

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The US reportedly has information that shows Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use several hundred drones.
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A drone is seen during an Iranian Army exercise dubbed ‘Zulfiqar 1400’, in the coastal area of the Gulf of Oman, Iran, in this picture obtained on November 7, 2021 / (photo credit: IRANIAN ARMY/WANA/REUTERS)

Iran is preparing to provide Russia with several hundred drones, including some that are capable of being armed with weapons, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Monday.

Sullivan also said the United States has information that shows Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use these drones.

“The Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons capable UAVS, on an expedited timeline,” Sullivan said. “Our information further indicates that Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use these UAVs, with initial training sessions slated to begin as soon as early as July.”

“It is unclear whether Iran has delivered any of these UAVs to Russia already,” Sullivan added. “This is just one example how Russia is looking to countries like Iran for capabilities that are also being used or have been used, before we got the cease-fire in place in Yemen, to attack Saudi Arabia.”

Drones in the Ukraine-Russia war

Russia has used drones extensively in its invasion of Ukraine, and the government in Kyiv claims to have downed more than 600 of the unmanned aircraft, according to the Kyiv Independent.

Ukraine’s military has also used drones to attack Russian forces. Ukraine has been using several types of smaller shorter range unmanned aerial systems against Russian forces that invaded the country in late February. They include the AeroVironment AVAV.O RQ-20 Puma AE, and the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2. The US has included drones among the weapons it’s provided to Kyiv, such as the Switchblade loitering munition.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER Sergei Lavrov (right) and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian meet in Moscow, in March. Throughout modern history, Iran has followed in Russia’s footsteps in adopting almost identical approaches to politics, says the writer. (credit: MAXIM SHEMETOV/REUTERS)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Iran for a two-day trip late last month. The visit came after Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, invited him to Iran, as world powers and Tehran are struggling to revive their 2015 nuclear pact and negotiations are stalled.

Russia’s foreign ministry posted a clip of Lavrov’s opening remarks during a meeting with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in which he said Moscow was adapting to what he called the West’s aggressive policies.

Last month Moscow said Russia and Iran, which are both under Western sanctions and sit on some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves, had discussed swapping supplies for oil and gas as well as establishing a logistics hub.

Russia-Iran trade is increasing, and the Islamic Republic expects more Russian investment. According to Iran’s figures, the trade between the countries has doubled in the last several years. The Iranian ambassador to Russia “also announced that the Russian Export Development Center in Iran would be set up soon, and stressed the need for face-to-face and unmediated trade talks between the two countries’ businessmen,” according to a Fars News report.

Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report. 

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