By Russia is attempting to obtain more weapons from Iran, including hundreds of ballistic missiles, and offering Tehran an unprecedented level of military and technical support in return, Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward said on Friday.
According to Woodward, Iran has sent hundreds of drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to Russia since August.
Russia utilized these drones in Ukraine to “kill civilians and illegally target civilian infrastructure.”
Woodward told reporters that “Russia is now attempting to obtain more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles.”
“In return, Russia is offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support. We’re concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with more advanced military components, which will allow Iran to strengthen their weapons capability,” she said.
She also said Britain was “almost certain that Russia is seeking to source weaponry from North Korea (and) other heavily sanctioned states, as their stocks palpably dwindle.”
Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council later on Friday that Moscow had already disputed “on numerous times” the charges that Russia was obtaining military supplies from Iran.
“The military-industrial complex in Russia can work perfectly fine and doesn’t need anyone’s assistance, whereas the Ukrainian military industry does not exist and is being assisted by the Western industry,” he said.
A request for comments on Woodward’s statements was not immediately answered by the Iranian and North Korean delegations to the United Nations.
In advance of the Security Council meeting on Friday, which Russia had requested, Woodward addressed the issue of Ukrainian conflict-related weaponry “falling into the hands of bandits and terrorists” in other parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Iran confirmed providing drones to Moscow last month but claimed the deliveries were made before the Ukraine conflict. Russia has denied that its military attacked Ukraine with Iranian drones.
In October, Iran offered to send Russia two senior Iranian officials, two Iranian diplomats, more drones, and surface-to-surface missiles.
On Wednesday, the United States stated that it had observed the continuous supply of Iranian drones to Russia but had not observed any proof that Iran had transported ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine.
In response to Western pressure to send experts to Ukraine to examine downed drones, U.N.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated in a report earlier this week to the Security Council that the organization is looking into “available information” regarding claims that Iran provided Russia with drones.
The delivery of drones built in Iran to Russia allegedly violates a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the Iran nuclear agreement, according to Britain, France, Germany, the United States, and Ukraine.
Russia claims that Guterres lacks the authority to dispatch U.N. experts to Ukraine to look into the drones’ genesis.
According to Guterres’ latest assessment, the Security Council would need to provide its prior consent before Iran could transfer drones or ballistic missiles with a range of more than 186 miles (300 km) to another nation.
