The Iranian regime issued a threatening statement a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Tehran of supplying Russia with a whole lot of deadly drones to be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Zelensky made the claim during his speech to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. An Iranian official denied the accusation on Thursday and warned that the regime’s “patience” for such allegations isn’t “countless.”
“Mr. Zelensky had higher know that Iran’s strategic patience over such unfounded accusations is just not countless,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a message posted to the ministry’s website.
Kanaani added that Zelensky should “draw a lesson from the fate of another political leaders who contented themselves with the US support.”
The Ukrainian president accused Russia on Wednesday of finding a “genocidal” ally in Iran as the previous Soviet state continues its airstrikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.
“When Russia cannot reach our cities by its artillery, it tries to destroy them with missile attacks,” Zelensky told congressional lawmakers during a pitch for more US aid for the Ukrainian war effort. “Greater than that, Russia found an ally in its genocidal policy — Iran.”
“Iranian deadly drones, sent to Russia in a whole lot, became a threat to our critical infrastructure,” he added. “That’s how one terrorist has found the opposite. It’s only a matter of time — when they may strike against your other allies, if we don’t stop them now.”
In October, the White House accused Iran of selling Russia about 1,000 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones at the tip of August, dozens of which have been deployed across Ukraine, in keeping with US officials.
“We are able to confirm that Russia’s military personnel which can be based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian [drones,] using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine, including strikes against Kyiv,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “In only recent days, we assess that Iranian military personnel were on the bottom in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations.”