UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its allies have clashed with Iran and its ally Russia over Western claims that Tehran is supplying Moscow with drones that attack Ukraine — and the United States has accused the U.N. secretary general of “caving in to Russian threats.” and did not initiate an investigation.
At a contentious Security Council meeting on Monday on a resolution upholding the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers, the US and Iran also blamed each other for stalled negotiations to rejoin the deal, which the Biden administration had withdrawn former President Donald Trump in 2018.
Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, insisted that Iran’s negotiating team had exercised “maximum flexibility” in trying to reach a deal and had even introduced “an innovative solution to the remaining issues to break the impasse.” But he argued that the United States’ “unrealistic and rigid approach” has led to the current stalled talks on the 2015 agreement, known as the JCPOA.
“Let’s be clear: pressure, intimidation and confrontation are not solutions and will not get you anywhere,” Iravani said.
Iran is ready to resume talks and hold a ministerial meeting “as soon as possible to announce the renewal of the JCPOA,” Iravani said. “This is achievable if the US shows real political will… The US now has the ball in its court.”
Speaking before Iravani, US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said “the door to negotiations remains open” for a mutual US-Iranian return to full implementation of the JCPOA. But he said “Iran’s own actions and attitudes are responsible for preventing this outcome.”
By September, a deal agreed to by all other parties was “within reach” and “even Iran was willing to say yes,” Wood said, “until Iran made new demands at the last minute that were foreign to JCPOA and that he knew he couldn’t meet.”
He said Iran’s conduct since September — particularly its failure to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, and the expansion of its nuclear program “without a legitimate civilian purpose” — had reinforced U.S. skepticism “about Iran’s willingness and ability to reach a deal and explains why there have been no active negotiations since then.”
At the end of the council meeting, Wood asked for the floor to rebut Iravani, saying it was “the fact” that Iran’s non-committal demands and rejection of all compromise proposals were why there had been no return to mutual compliance with the JCPOA.
“So let me put it simply, the ball is not in the USA’s court,” Wood said. “On the contrary, the ball is in Iran’s court.”
Britain’s ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, whose country remains a party to the JCPOA, told the council that Iran’s nuclear escalation “makes progress on the nuclear deal very difficult.”
“Today, Iran’s total stockpiles of enriched uranium exceed the JCPOA limits by at least 18 times and continue to produce highly enriched uranium, which is unprecedented for a country without a nuclear weapons program,” she said.
In addition, Woodward said, “Iran’s nuclear breakthrough time has been reduced to a few weeks, and the time required for Iran to produce fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons is decreasing.” She said Iran is also testing technology that could enable intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles to carry nuclear payloads.
The UN’s top political representative, Rosemary DiCarlo, told the council that “the space for diplomacy seems to be shrinking rapidly.”
She noted an IAEA report that Iran plans to install new centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment plant and produce more uranium enriched to 60% at the Fordow enrichment plant – a level close to the level needed for nuclear weapons. Iran also removed all IAEA equipment to monitor JCPOA-related activities.
DiCarlo called on Iran to rescind all steps outside the JCPOA’s limits, and for the United States to lift sanctions against Iran set out in the nuclear deal and expand waivers on trade in Iranian oil.
Iran’s Iravani stressed that all of Iran’s nuclear activities are “peaceful” and said Iran is ready to engage the IAEA to resolve outstanding issues on nuclear safeguards.
Regarding what he called the “baseless allegation” that Iran had sent drones to Russia in violation of the 2015 resolution, Iravani stressed that all restrictions on arms transfers to and from Iran were lifted in October 2020. Therefore, said the West‘s claim that Tehran needed prior approval “has no legal merit.”
Iravani also insisted that the drones had not been transferred to Russia for use in Ukraine, saying that “the campaign of disinformation and baseless accusations … serve no other purpose than to divert attention from the transfer of vast quantities of advanced, sophisticated weapons by Western countries to Ukraine, to prolong the conflict.”
Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasiliy Nebenzja, called the allegations of Iran’s supply of drones to his country for use in Ukraine “obviously fabricated and false”. Russia is well aware that Ukrainian representatives “could not bilaterally provide Tehran with any documentation confirming the use of drones of Iranian origin by Russian military personnel,” he said.
Wood, the US envoy, told the council that Ukraine’s report of Iranian-origin drones being used by Russia to attack civilian infrastructure was supported by “substantial evidence from multiple public sources,” including a Nov. 5 statement by Iran’s foreign minister.
He insisted that Iran is prohibited from transferring these types of drones without prior Security Council approval under an annex to the 2015 resolution.
Wood said the UN has had a seven-year mandate to investigate reported violations of the resolution and expressed disappointment that the UN Secretariat, led by Secretary-General Guterres, has not launched an investigation, “clearly caving in to Russian threats”. “
Russian Nebenzia reiterated Moscow’s claim that the investigations were an “inappropriate violation” of the resolution and the UN Charter “and that the UN Secretariat should not bow to pressure from Western countries.”
Guterres told a press conference earlier Monday, when asked about criticism that the UN had not launched an investigation into Iranian-made drones in Ukraine, that “we are looking at all aspects of this issue and the bigger picture of everything we are doing in the context of war, to determine if and when an investigation should be conducted.
How much did Russia pay for Iranian drones?
The source claimed that Tehran and Moscow had agreed a further €200m (£174m) drone deal in recent days. Read also : Biden finds himself in a storm between Russia and its American prisoners.
How much do Iranian drones cost? Still, the low price of some of Iran’s drones — $20,000 is the figure often quoted for each single-use Shahed-136 unit — could tempt Belgrade to expand and strengthen its arsenal by buying more of these drones.
Did Iran give drones to Russia?
Iran has admitted supplying drones to Moscow, but said they were sent before the war in Ukraine, where Russia used them to target power plants and civilian infrastructure.
Where did Iran get its drones?
Investigators in Kiev have found that explosive drones and other guided munitions supplied to Russia are made mostly of parts from the United States, including many made since 2020. On the same subject : $775 million in additional US military aid to Ukraine. As a subscriber, you have 10 freebies every month.
Are Iran and Russia allies?
Iran and Russia are also military allies in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and partners in Afghanistan and post-Soviet Central Asia; and has a common interest in suppressing Sunni Islamism and pan-Sunni political groups. On the same subject : Ambassador Brzezinski Interview with Belsat – U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Poland. The Russian Federation is also the main supplier of arms and weapons to Iran.
Is Iran an ally of Ukraine? Prior to 2020, relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Ukraine were strong, but have since deteriorated due to Iran supplying Russia with its Shahed military drones during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the downing of Ukraine International Flight 752 Airlines. Iranian Islamic…
What countries are Iran’s allies?
China and India have also become friends of Iran; these three countries face similar challenges in the global economy as they industrialize and as a result find themselves aligned on many issues. Iran maintains regular diplomatic and trade relations with Russia and former Soviet republics.
Is Iraq and Russia allies?
The Ba’athist regime “became even closer to the Soviet Union, with relations reaching their peak from 1969 to 1973.” After 1972, Iraq soon became one of the Soviet Union’s closest allies in the Middle East. In April 1972, a 15-year Iraqi-Soviet “Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation” was signed.
Is Iran sending drones to Russia?
Iran’s foreign minister admits drones were sent to Russia, but says it happened before the war. Russia has used Iranian-made drones in a series of deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.
Did Iran Give Russia Drones? Iran has admitted for the first time that it sent drones to Russia, but says the delivery took place before the invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv, Ukraine â Iran has admitted for the first time that it has provided military drones to Russia, but says only a few were delivered in the months before the invasion of Ukraine.
Why Iran supply drones to Russia?
Two factors help explain Iran’s export of drones to Russia: Moscow’s need for a cheap, expendable drone system to target Ukrainian infrastructure, and Iran’s strategic interest in changing the US-led world order and strengthening its geopolitical influence.
Who is supplying drones to Russia?
Iran’s supply of drones to Russia was one of the major surprises of Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
How many drones Iran supplied to Russia?
The same officials said Iran had sent 450 drones to Russia and would send another 1,000 weapons, including the expected missiles.
