JEDDAH: The United States believes that Russian officials visited an airfield in Iran recently to view attack-capable drones, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday.
The United States earlier this week said it has information that shows Iran is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred drones, including some that are weapons capable, and that Tehran is preparing to train Russian forces to use them. Iran’s foreign minister denied that.
“We assess an official Russian delegation recently received a showcase of Iranian attack-capable UAVs....To our knowledge, this is the first time a Russian delegation has visited this airfield for such a showcase,” Sullivan said in a statement.
The statement included satellite imagery dated June 8 showing Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) “that the Russian government delegation saw that day.” It said similar equipment was showcased for a second Russian visit to the airfield on July 5.
On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, rejected as baseless US accusations about Iranian drones being sent to Russia for use in the war against the Ukraine.
Iran, which has supplied UAVs to its allies in the Middle East, on Friday announced its first naval drone-carrying division in the Indian Ocean as US President Joe Biden visits the Middle East.
Biden is expected to meet with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Saturday and discuss integrating missile and defense capabilities in the region to combat Iranian drone and missile attacks in the Middle East.
“Russia is effectively making a bet on Iran and we are making a bet on a more integrated, more stable, more peaceful and prosperous Middle East region,” a senior US administration official told reporters on Saturday.
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Russian officials visited Iran to view drones, says US official
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Russian officials visited Iran to view drones, says US official
- US said it has information that shows Iran's prepararion to provide Russia with several hundred drones
- Iran denies claims on drones being sent to Russia for use in Ukraine war
USS Gerald Ford leaves Crete as Iran talks begin: AFP
- Its departure comes amid a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program
- Washington has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier, nine destroyers and three other combat ships
SOUDA, Greece: The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, sent to the Mediterranean this week in a military build-up to put pressure on Iran, left a naval base in Crete Thursday, an AFP photographer said.
Its departure came as a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program, mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, opened in Geneva Thursday morning.
The vessel has been at the US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay base in Crete since Monday. The US embassy in Athens has declined to comment on the carrier’s presence, forwarding questions to the Pentagon in Washington.
President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran last year. He has repeatedly threatened Tehran with fresh military action if it does not cut a new deal on its contentious nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic weapon.
Washington has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier — the USS Abraham Lincoln — nine destroyers and three other combat ships.
It is rare for there to be two US aircraft carriers, which carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors, in the Middle East.
Its departure came as a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program, mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, opened in Geneva Thursday morning.
The vessel has been at the US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay base in Crete since Monday. The US embassy in Athens has declined to comment on the carrier’s presence, forwarding questions to the Pentagon in Washington.
President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran last year. He has repeatedly threatened Tehran with fresh military action if it does not cut a new deal on its contentious nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic weapon.
Washington has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier — the USS Abraham Lincoln — nine destroyers and three other combat ships.
It is rare for there to be two US aircraft carriers, which carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors, in the Middle East.
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