Iran
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday accused the US of worsening the violence in Ukraine, adding that Tehran would support a peace settlement. Iran has provided drones to Russia to use in its war.
“The United States of America has fanned the fire of violence in Ukraine to weaken European countries,” Raisi said in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to a transcript provided by Iranian state media.
The Iranian president insisted that Tehran remains neutral in the war, emphasizing their readiness to back a peace initiative. Iranian-made Shahed-136/131 drones have been repeatedly used by Russia in its attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, leading to a barrage of international sanctions and condemnations on Iran, escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.
According to the White House, drones and spare parts are sent from Amirabad in Iran to Makhachkala in Russia’s Dagestan on ships via the Caspian Sea. They are then launched towards Ukraine from airbases in the Russian cities of Sescha and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.
Iran has admitted to selling drone parts to Russia prior to the war which broke out in February last year.
Ukrainian ports on the Danube river have also become a target for Russian attacks, raising fears of their proximity to Romania, a NATO and European Union member.
“Rejecting any ceasefire plan in the Ukraine war by the Americans shows that America has a long-term plan to weaken Europe,” Raisi stated.
In May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Iran for siding with the “evil” Russian state in its war on Ukraine and called on Iranians able to influence government decisions to refrain from siding with Moscow.
In response, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the Ukrainian president’s comments were a “political show” echoing “baseless allegations” against Tehran.
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