Iranians Doing Drone Tech Support and Training from Crimea, America Says

Russia is getting drones from Iran. It’s interesting that Iran’s tech is at that level, where they are selling it to a superpower.

That said, it’s very unlikely that they are actually physically going to Crimea to help the Russians. It’s possible, but it seems very made up.

Reuters:

The United States has said Iranian military trainers were in Crimea helping Russian forces operate Iranian-made drones to attack targets in Ukraine, adding an alarming strand to a war that has heightened geopolitical tensions.

Ukrainian citizens endured the first day of nationwide scheduled power outages since the war began eight months ago so repairs could be made to damaged or destroyed energy plants as winter approaches.

We can confirm that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs and using them to conduct kinetic strikes across Ukraine, including in strikes against Kyiv in recent days,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told a daily briefing with reporters, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.

We assess that … Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” Price said. He said “we do have credible information” but he did not provide evidence.

Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has used the southern peninsula to train soldiers and reopen Soviet-era military bases as part of the invasion of its neighbour.

There was no immediate public reaction from Tehran to the U.S. accusations but Iran has denied the drones are Iranian-made. Russia has also denied using Iranian drones in Ukraine.

Russia’s defence and foreign ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that Washington was going to pursue all means to “expose, deter and confront” Iran’s supply of munitions to Russia, including more sanctions, while also considering air defences for Ukraine.

European Union members have agreed on new measures against Iran, the bloc said, while Britain imposed sanctions on senior military figures and a firm it said were involved in the supply of Iranian drones to Moscow.

Russia and Iran have also been involved in the 11-year-long civil war in Syria, together supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“Iran and Russia, they can lie to the world, but they certainly can’t hide the facts, and the fact is this: Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground,” Kirby said, without providing details.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister t said on Twitter he had held detailed discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on a request for air and missile defence systems and technology. Lapid’s office said the Israeli leader expressed “deep concern” about the military connection between Iran and Russia.

Yes. Of course.

This is a very obvious way to more aggressively link Iran to Russia, to talk about how Iran is taking part in the “occupation.”

Israel is already basically at war with Russia on multiple fronts, but this justifies further action.