(United Nations) Russia and Iran firmly denied on Wednesday at the UN any supply by Tehran of armed drones to Moscow in its war in Ukraine, while the European Union promised future sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Posted at 7:17 p.m.
One after the other, the Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polianski and the Iranian Ambassador Amir Said Iravani took turns in front of the press at the door of the Security Council after two hours of closed meeting, in at the request of Westerners, on the issue of Iranian drones in Ukraine.
The Russian diplomat, ironic and very vivacious, castigated “baseless accusations, conspiracy theories and no evidence presented before the Security Council”. Mr Polianski claimed that the drones “used by the Russian military in Ukraine were made in Russia” and therefore not of Iranian origin.
The Iranian ambassador also brushed aside “baseless and insubstantial allegations” about this alleged transfer of drones between the two allies and repeated that his country wanted a “peaceful settlement” of the Ukrainian conflict.
During the vote organized on October 12 by the UN General Assembly to condemn the “illegal” Russian annexation in eastern Ukraine, Tehran abstained like 34 other Member States.
Russian threat
To his denial, the Russian Polianski added a threat to the UN General Secretariat and its chief Antonio Guterres.
In the event of an “absolutely unprofessional and political” UN investigation to determine the origin of the drones in Ukraine, “we would have to reconsider our collaboration with them [le secrétariat général]which would not be in anyone’s interest,” the diplomat said.
Tehran has repeatedly denied in recent days supplying arms and drones to Russia for its operations in Ukraine. But on the ground, the Kyiv Air Force said on Wednesday that it had destroyed 223 Iranian drones since mid-September.
Similarly in Brussels, the spokeswoman for European diplomacy Nabila Massrali announced that the EU had gathered “enough evidence” showing that the drones used by Moscow were supplied by Tehran.
She said that the 27 were preparing “a clear, rapid and firm European response”.
A list of sanctions has been submitted to them and a decision is expected “during the week”, according to a diplomatic source.
According to this list seen by AFP, the sanctions target in particular the Iranian company Shahed Aviation Industries, linked to the powerful Revolutionary Guards, and three military officials, including General Mohammed Hossein Bagheri, chief of staff of the forces Iranian armies.
moribund accord
In Washington, a spokesman for American diplomacy drove the point home: there is “a lot of evidence that Russia is using [ces drones] Iranians for ruthless and deliberate attacks against the Ukrainian population and critical civilian infrastructure”.
“The United States joins the British and the French” in denouncing “a clear violation of resolution 2231 [de 2015] of the UN Security Council”, a text which frames the now moribund international agreement on the nuclear program of Tehran, added this spokesperson for the State Department.
Finally, “on Friday, at the request of France and Mexico, the Security Council will hold a meeting [publique] on the protection of civilians, to raise the issue of indiscriminate strikes against civilians which may constitute “war crimes””, indicated a French diplomatic source.