Denying US Allegations About Sending Weapons To Russia, Iranian President Raisi: We Against War In Ukraine

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency/Amir Sadeghan)

JAKARTA - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi denied his country had sent drones to Russia for war in Ukraine, while the United States claimed Iran not only provided weapons, but also helped Russia to build a factory to build it.

"We are against the war in Ukraine," President Raisi said during a meeting with media executives on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

President Raisi said if the US had "Iran documents of delivering weapons or drones to Russia after the war, they should produce them".

President Raisi said it hours after five Americans jailed by Iran arrived in Qatar, were released in a deal involving the disbursement of Tehran funds of about $6 billion detained in South Korea.

Tehran has been sanctioned by the US and the European Union on suspicion of weapons supply to Moscow, which analysts say is increasing in line with the development of the conflict, and has repeatedly denied sending drones and missiles to Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Russia of killing civilians in a drone strike using the Iranian-made Shaheed model.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Iran to stop its aid to Russia, asking Tehran to stop its steps "on the dark side of history".

Separately, the United Nations has been urged to investigate Iran's weapons supply claims to Moscow, with Western countries saying such deals are against the 2015 Nuclear Deal.

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said investigators should be sent to Kyiv to study the origins of Iran's suspected drone.

The White House said Tehran was helping Moscow to build a drone plant east of Moscow, according to intelligence reports released in June.

Satellite imagery shows a location 900 km east of Moscow, which US National Security Council spokeswoman John Kirby said could fully operate next year.

He condemned Tehran's "defense partnership" with Moscow as "dangerous to Ukraine, neighboring Iranian countries and the international community", saying Russia had "reported" Ukrainian civilians on Iranian-made drones.