The Russian embassy in Tehran has dismissed “false” media allegations that Iranian weapons were being sent to Russia for use in the ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.
The embassy claimed in a tweet on Sunday that “information that circulated in the media about the delivery of Iranian weaponry to Russia is bogus and does not match with reality.”
🇷🇺🇮🇷Statement of the Russian Embassy to Iran
👆The information that appeared in some media about the supply of Iranian weapons to Russia is fake and does not correspond with reality pic.twitter.com/OOh3UlduWe
— Russian Embassy in Iran (@RusEmbIran) April 24, 2022
The Guardian reported on April 12 that Russia is getting “Iranian weapons smuggling networks” to help it get “munitions and military gear procured from Iraq” for its military assault in Ukraine.
RPGs and anti-tank missiles, as well as Brazilian-designed rocket launcher systems, have been transported from Iraq to Russia, according to the British daily newspaper, “as Moscow’s campaign has stagnated in the last month.”
“The authorities in Tehran have also donated to Moscow an Iranian-made Bavar 373 missile system, which is identical to the Russian S-300,” The Guardian reported, citing a source.
The report was then denounced by the Iranian embassy in London as “unrealistic and unfounded storytelling.”
“Attempting to relate recent happenings in Ukraine to Middle East developments and invoking the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran is an unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour, as well as a form of disrespect to the newspaper’s readers,” it stated.
Iran’s denial was met with enthusiasm in Kiev, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressing his country’s gratitude to Tehran for dismissing the accusations.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “special military action” against Ukraine. The confrontation has elicited a unified response from Western countries, who have slammed Moscow with several restrictions. Russia claims that if Kiev complies with a list of demands, including never requesting to join NATO, the operation will be halted immediately.
Since the commencement of the conflict, Tehran has stated that it opposes both war and sanctions, and has called for swift diplomatic attempts to resolve the situation.
Last month, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raeisi stated that the people of Ukraine had suffered as a result of the US’s bad policies, underlining the Islamic Republic’s opposition to war.
“Like the people of Afghanistan, Yemen, and Iraq, the people of Ukraine have been victims of the United States’ terrible actions,” Raeisi stated.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has also expressed Iran’s opposition to the war, urging all parties involved to pay attention to the issue, find a political solution, and engage in diplomatic dialogue.
