Iran on Thursday hit out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his continued accusations — backed by the US and Europe — that the Islamic Republic is providing attack drones to Russia for mass use in strikes on Ukraine, The Times of Israel reports.
Addressing the US Congress on Wednesday, Zelensky railed at Moscow’s increasing use of missiles and drones to target Ukrainian cities out of Russian artillery range.
“Russia found an ally in this, in this genocidal policy: Iran,” he said. “Iranian deadly drones sent to Russia in hundreds and hundreds became a threat to our critical infrastructure. That is how one terrorist has found the other.
“It is just a matter of time [before] they will strike against your other allies if we do not stop them now. We must do it.”
Responding to Zelensky’s “repeated accusations and rude remarks,” Iran’s foreign ministry again denied supplying drones or other military equipment to Russia for use in Ukraine and asserted that Tehran respects all countries’ territorial integrity.
“Mr. Zelensky had better know that Iran’s strategic patience over such unfounded accusations is not endless,” spokesman Nasser Kanaani was quoted as saying in a ministry statement.
The statement said Kanaani also recommended that Zelensky learn “from the fate of some other political leaders who contented themselves with the US support.”
It was not clear who Kanaani was referring to, though he may have been referencing former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani, whose government was overthrown by the Taliban as the US withdrew its forces from the country last year.
