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A car is covered with rubble the day after a military strike in the center of Odesa on July 24, 2023. Photo: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US on Tuesday said that Iran is Russia’s “top military backer” in its war in Ukraine, citing intelligence reports that Tehran is assisting Moscow with building a facility to manufacture drones.
US Department of State Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters that Russia had “received hundreds of one-way attack UAVs, as well as UAV production related equipment from Iran,” adding that "Iran remains Russia's top military backer.”
Iranian-made drones, particularly the Shahed-136, are frequently launched by Russia towards civilian and military infrastructure in Ukraine. Tehran has repeatedly rejected allegations that is has supplied Moscow with drones to use in its war in Ukraine.
The Islamic Republic has previously said that it sent drones to Russia before the war broke out in February 2022.
US intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that Russia was building a drone-manufacturing facility with help from Iran, predicting that this could significantly change the tide of the war in Ukraine to Moscow’s benefit.
In April, satellite images were released by Washington purportedly showing the planned location of the reported facility.
The White House has previously said that Iran supplies Russia with drones and weapons via the Caspian Sea, and that Moscow has used up most of the 400 drones that it has purchased from Tehran.
The US, the UK, and the European Union have imposed a series of sanctions on Iran for its supply of drones to Russia.
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