February 24, 2023 was the one-year anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine — a major escalation in Europe since the end of World War II. While Iran’s initial official statement adopted a neutral position toward the war, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei later echoed President Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric and blamed the West for the invasion and Tehran shifted into alignment with Moscow as the war progressed. In the months since, Iran has pursued involvement in the conflict.
Despite denials from Iranian officials, Tehran has provided Russia with hundreds of “suicide drones” and sent trainers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula to instruct Russian soldiers in drone warfare.
Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have not proven to be a decisive factor on the battlefield. But these drones have contributed to destruction and devastation in Kyiv, Odesa, and other Ukrainian cities. Indeed, the Russians have used Iran’s Shahed-131, Shahed-136, and Mohajer-6 drones to destroy rail lines, power grids, water pipelines, and other civilian infrastructure throughout Ukraine.
Russia used Iranian drones in an attack on Kyiv on 28 May 2023. Ukraine said it shot down all but one of the drones. Another strike on 20 June used 35 Shahed drones, 32 of which were shot down by Ukraine.
In November, 2022, the Iranian government confirmed for the first time that it had sold drones to Russia but said this was “months” before the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine accused Iran of supplying Russia with “kamikaze” drones have been used in deadly attacks Ukraine territory.
Military aid to the Kremlin from the side of Tehran actually shows that at the international level, the Iranian regime, which grossly violates international law and the provisions of the UN Charter, cannot be trusted.
In fact, Russia’s major setbacks in Ukraine have forced the Kremlin to grow more dependent on the external support provided by Iran.
The past year of conflict in Ukraine has given a significant boost to the bilateral relationship between Russia and Iran. The geopolitical ramifications of this alignment have gravely concerned officials in the United States and the European Union. Western statesmen see the strengthening of the Russo-Iranian partnership as a significant danger to global security.
The deepening Moscow-Tehran relationship a profound threat that governments around the world should pay very close attention to.
In the present, Russia and Iran are geopolitically oriented in many of the same ways, sharing negative attitudes toward the West. Both Moscow and Tehran are the subject of extensive Western sanctions, and both seek to create a new international order.
On December, 2022, US national security council spokesman John Kirby said: “Iran has become Russia’s top military backer…”. “Russia’s been using Iranian drones to strike energy infrastructure, depriving millions of Ukrainians of power, heat, critical services. People in Ukraine today are actually dying as a result of Iran’s actions”.
On 9 January 2023, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that Iran’s sale of drones to Russia might be “contributing to widespread war crimes” in Ukraine.
Moscow and Tehran have already advanced plans to build a drone factory inside Russia that could produce thousands of drones per year, the U.S. officials confirmed, detailing a plan first reported by the Wall Street Journal. In addition, the officials said, Russia is drumming up plans to provide Iran with advanced military fighter jets, helicopters, and air defense systems.
In the same time, Russia continues to offer military and technical support to the Iranian regime, which also increases the risk it poses to international security.
Currently, Iran is trying to have the international sanctions lifted, which were imposed against it in response to its developing nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles: missiles and Unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).
Participants in international negotiations with Iran in Vienna regarding the control over Iran’s nuclear programs, including International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) representatives, must take into account the nefarious impact of Iran’s direct intervention into the war Russia against Ukraine, amongst other things the possibility of using Iranian weapons (UCAVs) against the nuclear and other potentially dangerous infrastructure of Ukraine, which can lead to global catastrophic consequences.
