Middle East
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing the Haaretz Democracy Conference on October 24, 2022. Photo: Screengrab/Haaretz
EBRIL, Kurdistan Region - In an appeal for Israeli military support on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested Russia is assisting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for Iranian drones to use in its war in Ukraine.
In an online address to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, Zelensky criticized what he referred to as Israeli neutrality in the Ukraine war, adding that their lack of support pushed Russia and Iran into a military partnership.
Over the past weeks, media reports have shown Iranian-made drones being used in Russia’s war in Ukraine, with Kyiv and Washington also accusing Tehran of sending the weaponry. The US, UK, and the European Union have slammed new sanctions on Iran for sending drones to Russia.
Zelensky renewed demands for a stronger Israeli stance against Russia and for its Iron Dome anti-missile technology to counter Russian aerial attacks. In an appeal to Israel, Zelensky said “Iran” and “Iranian” are words often used when speaking of threats to Israeli national security. “They mean something you fully understand. They mean a mortal threat.”
Arch-enemies Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war that has played out through proxy conflict and cyber warfare. Israel has also repeatedly expressed its opposition towards the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), stating that the agreement is too lenient on Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel perceives Iran as the biggest threat to its national security given Tehran’s support for anti-Israeli Palestinian groups and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
The Ukrainian president said that Russia’s losses on the battlefield and its exhaustion of its own missiles turned Moscow to Iranian weaponry. “Russia ordered about 2,000 Shaheds from Iran,” Zelensky said citing Ukrainian intelligence. “Iranian instructors came to teach Russians how to use drones.”
The Shahed-136 are Iranian-made suicide or “kamikaze” drones which Ukraine and the US say were used in a Russian attack on a residential building in Kyiv last week, killing at least five people. Iran has repeatedly denied the claims.
“The disgusting sound of Iranian drones is heard in our skies every night,” Zelensky said of the buzzing noise the Shahed-136 makes.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Monday once again denied sending drones to Russia, calling for talks to be held with Ukraine over the claims. He confirmed that military cooperation exists between Tehran and Moscow. “In the past we have taken weapons from Russia and given it weapons as well, but not during the Ukraine war,” he said.
However, telegram channels affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) constantly boast about the superiority of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war, stating that the sound of the Shahed-1356 strikes fear among Ukrainians.
Earlier in the day, the foreign ministry spokesperson also rejected US claims that Iranian military forces had been sent to Russian-annexed Crimea.
Last week, the White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Iran has sent a “relatively small number” of personnel to Crimea to assist Russian troops in launching Iranian-made drones against Ukraine, echoing remarks by Zelensky.
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