Ukraine war: US says Iranian drones violate sanctions

 

The US says it agrees with Western allies that Iran's supply of explosive drones to Russia violates UN sanctions.

Kyiv was hit on Monday by a so-called "Kamikaze" drone, which was shot down by Russia but believed to be Iranian-made.

The US State Department said the US agreed with the French and British assessments that the drones violate UN Security Council resolution 2231.

The resolution, linked to Iran's nuclear deal, prohibits the Iranian transfer of certain military technologies.

Ukraine has identified drones – or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as Iranian Shaheed-136 weapons. They are called kamikaze drones after Japanese fighter pilots who flew suicide missions in World War II.

"We believe that these UAVs, which were transferred from Iran to Russia and used by Russia in Ukraine, are among the weapons that will continue to be banned under 2231," State Department's Vedanta Patel said.

Iran denies supplying them to Russia, but Mr Patel said the US has "publicly exposed that Russia has obtained drones from Iran, that it is part of Russia's plan to import hundreds of Iranian UAVs of various types." was part".

He said there is "extensive evidence" of Russia's use of them in Ukraine.

The Kyiv government said critical infrastructure was affected on Monday in Ukraine's Kyiv, Dnipro and Sumy regions, with power cuts in hundreds of towns and villages.

At least eight people were killed - four in Kyiv and four in Sumi. The US said it would "hold [Russia] accountable for its war crimes."

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Mr Patel said the deepening alliance between Russia and Iran is something that the whole world should see as a threat. Russia and Iran have provided major military aid to President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.

“Anyone doing business with Iran, which may have any connection with UAV or ballistic missile development or weapons flow from Iran to Russia, should be very careful and do their due diligence. In using US sanctions Will not hesitate," warned Mr Patel.


Monday's attack came a week after Russia fired dozens of missiles at Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine, many of which were targeting energy infrastructure. Western analysts believe that Iranian weapons are helping Russia launch long-range strikes, despite a lack of precision missiles.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the EU is also "gathering evidence" on Iranian drones and is ready to act - potentially intensifying sanctions.

Negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran are currently on hold. Under the deal with Western powers, Iran agreed to allow international inspectors in exchange for limiting its sensitive nuclear activities and lifting economic sanctions.