Russia is reportedly set to begin shipping drones, medicine and food to its ally Iran in support of its efforts against the United States and Israel.
Western intelligence reports claim that Moscow and Tehran have held secret talks of drone supplies shortly after the war began, the Financial Times reported.
The Russians have already given Iran satellite imagery, targeting data and intelligence support but the drones would be the first potentially lethal aid they’ve supplied.
Russia has denied assisting Iran in its month-old conflict with the United States and Israel – a denial that Washington said earlier this month that it had also received directly from Moscow when the issue was discussed.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied Wednesday’s reports.
‘There are a lot of fakes going around right now. One thing is true — we are continuing our dialogue with the Iranian leadership,’ Dimitry Peskov said.
Earlier Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russia sought to blackmail the United States by offering to stop sharing military intelligence with Iran if, in return, Washington would cut off Ukraine from its intelligence data.
Zelensky, who said on Monday that Ukraine’s military intelligence has ‘irrefutable’ evidence that Russia is continuing to provide intelligence to Iran, told Reuters he had seen the data but provided no further details.
Russia is reportedly set to begin shipping drones, medicine and food to its ally Iran in support of its efforts against the United States and Israel
Speaking in his presidential compound in Kyiv, Zelensky said that some Iranian drones, used to attack US military assets and its allies during the war in the Middle East, contained Russian components.
‘I have reports from our intelligence services showing that Russia is doing this and saying: ‘I will not pass on intelligence to Iran if America stops passing intelligence to Ukraine.’ Isn’t that blackmail? Absolutely,’ Zelensky said.
He did not say who, according to the reports, Russia was addressing the comments to.
Ukraine, which has faced sustained attacks by Iranian-designed Shahed drones since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, is helping several Gulf states – including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar – to counter drone attacks on their territory, the president said.
Zelensky said he hoped that Ukraine would be able to reach long-term deals with some Gulf countries that would raise funds for the production of Ukrainian drone interceptors or receiving much-needed air-defense missiles.
It comes as Tehran appeared to suggest that no talks toward ending the war were coming despite suggestions from Washington that they could happen this week.
In an interview with Iranian state TV late Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said that no talks with the United States have taken place.
‘No negotiations have happened with the enemy until now, and we do not plan on any negotiations,’ he said.
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Pentagon and US Central Command for comment.
This is a developing story.
