Iran says helping no side in Ukraine war

“We have various forms of cooperation with Russia, including in the sphere of defense, but we are not helping either side involved in the [Ukrainian] conflict because we are certain that it should be concluded. I think that currently the problem is elsewhere – some Western countries, including the US, are manufacturing arms and trying to sell their products,” Amirabdollahian said in his interview with La Repubblica newspaper, commenting on remarks by US Presidential National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Iran’s plans to send drones to Russia.

“We are trying to avoid any actions that may lead to an escalation. We are working on stopping this war,” the Iranian top diplomat added.

He stressed that that Tehran “will avoid any action that could lead to escalation” but we will work to stop the conflict.

On Monday, the US official claimed that Iran was planning to hand over to Russia up to several hundreds of the unmanned aerial vehicles, including those capable of carrying armaments. Additionally, according to his information, Iran was planning to train Russian forces to use these drones with the first stages of training beginning as early as July. Sullivan did not provide any proof for his assertions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kan’ani also said Tuesday cooperation between Tehran and Moscow in the field of some modern technologies goes back to before the commencement of war in Ukraine.

“No change has taken place in this area at the recent juncture,” Kan’ani noted, referring to technological cooperation between the two sides.

Kan’ani also repeated Iran’s position of opposition to war, stressing, “The Islamic Republic’s position concerning the Ukraine war is completely clear, and has been announced repeatedly in an official manner.”