The Value Of Iran's Drone Supply For Russia Violates UN Security Council Resolution

The fragments of Russian drones in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - The United States agrees with Britain and France's assessment that drone supplies to Iran to Russia will violate UN Security Council resolutions in favor of the 2015 Nuclear Precision between Iran and six major countries, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

"Previously, today our ally of France and Britain publicly made an assessment that Russia's Iranian UAV supply was a violation of UN Security Council resolution 2231," Patel told reporters, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones.

"This is something we agree to," Patel continued.

Ukraine has reported a spate of Russian attacks using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks. On the other hand, Iran denies supplying drones to Russia, while the Kremlin has not commented.

The US State Department assessed that Iranian drones were used on Monday in a rush hour attack in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, an official said.

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre also accused Tehran of lying when he said Iranian drones were not used by Russia in Ukraine.

To note, the UN Security Council's Resolution 2231 supports an agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States to limit Tehran's uranium enrichment activities, making it difficult for Iran to develop nuclear weapons while lifting international sanctions.

Under the resolution, the conventional arms embargo against Iran goes into effect until October 2020. Despite US efforts under former president Donald Trump, who removed the United States from the deal in 2018, to extend the arms embargo, the Security Council rejected it, paving the way for Iran to continue arms exports.

However, Western diplomats said the resolution still includes missile and related technology restrictions that run until October 2023, and which include exports and purchases of advanced military systems such as drones.

"We believe that the UAV transferred from Iran to Russia and used by Russia in Ukraine, is one of the weapons that will remain embargoed on 2231," Patel said.