White House accuses Iran of assisting Russia

• The US accuses Iran of using Iranian-made drones in strikes in Ukraine.
• The White House says Iran is “actively engaged on the ground” in Russian-occupied Crimea.
• A “very small number” of Iranian troops are working in the part of Ukraine.

Using Iranian-made drones that have been used in strikes in Ukraine, the White House has accused Iran of being “actively engaged on the ground” in Russian-occupied Crimea.

A “very small number,” according to US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, of Iranian troops are working in the part of Ukraine that Russia annexed in 2014.

According to Kirby, “Tehran is currently directly involved on the ground and through supplying weapons that have an effect on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The provision of these weapons by Iran against the people of Ukraine will be exposed, discouraged, and confronted by the United States using all available methods.

Tehran has denied giving Moscow drones or aiding in their launch.

The Kremlin has denied claims that it is employing Iranian weapons in its deadly drone operations over Ukraine.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, declared the weapons were produced in Russia and denounced “baseless charges and conspiracy theories” after the Wednesday Security Council meeting.

However, Kirby said on Thursday that the on-the-ground involvement was necessary because Iranian drone systems “were experiencing difficulties and not functioning to the standards that presumably the clients expected.”

Accordingly, the Iranians made the decision to send in some trainers and technical assistance to enable the Russians in using them more lethally, he added.

The US will “continue to firmly implement all US restrictions on both the Russian and Iranian arms transactions,” Kirby continued.

In response to the drones, the European Union and the United Kingdom earlier in the day declared their own penalties against Iran.

After a protracted standoff during which Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded a stop to NATO expansion into former Soviet countries, Russia began its invasion of its neighbor in February.

Moscow’s military assault, though, has faced numerous setbacks. In a counteroffensive in the country’s east recently, Ukrainian soldiers, supported by US weapons, recovered significant amounts of territory.

Russia formally seized the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia in late September.

The US and its allies continued to implement sanctions against different Iranian politicians and state institutions due to a crackdown on anti-government protesters in the nation when the drone claims against Iran first surfaced.

Iran is currently experiencing widespread protests in response to the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained in Tehran’s capital city last month for wearing “unsuitable clothes.” Authorities dispute that Amini was assaulted or otherwise abused, yet she died while in jail.

While stating that it is still willing to reinstate a 2015 Iranian nuclear deal based on reciprocal compliance, Washington has expressed support for the protesters. Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

Reviving the agreement, according to Kirby on Thursday, is not a top priority for the US government right now.

At this time, he declared, “diplomacy is not our primary concern.” Making sure that we are holding the dictatorship responsible for how they are treating peaceful protestors in their country and supporting those protesters is what we are concentrating on.

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