Iran Provisions Russia With Drone Technology To Kill Civilians In Ukraine

(New York, N.Y.) — The U.S. State Department has assessed that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) drones used by Russia this week in an attack on Kyiv, which left four people dead, are of Iranian origin. Russia’s interest in Iranian UAV technology has been well-documented since Moscow invaded Ukraine. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned in July 2022 that “the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons capable UAVs on an expedited timeline.”

In fact, the Iranian regime has been demonstrating, training, and supplying the Russian military with its Shahed-136 and Mohajer-6 drone technology for months. The U.S., UK, and France argue that Iran’s provisioning of drone technology to Russia violates U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 restrictions on Iran missiles and other similar technologies. These limitations expire in October 2023. Resolution 2231 endorsed the Iran nuclear deal of 2015. 

Russian losses in Ukraine likely inspired these transfers, but Moscow has long had its eye on Iran’s drone program, with the director of Iran’s Aviation Industries Organization claiming back in 2019 that Russia had expressed interest in purchasing Iranian drones. The October 2020 expiration of the U.N. arms embargo on Iran under Resolution 2231 likely emboldened these developments by providing Russia with legal cover. UANI has been warning for years of the dangers of the expiration of the arms embargo, but the United States and its European allies have allowed the prohibition to expire.  

To read United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s resource, The Iranian Drone Threat, please click here. 

To read UANI’s resource, Tehran’s Ties With Beijing and Moscow, please click here. 

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