It Is Difficult For Iran To Sell Drones To Russia, The United States Will Tempuh Dua Cara Ini

Illustration of the Shahed-136 drone belonging to Iran. (Twitter/@inbarspace)

JAKARTA - The United States will continue to take "practical, aggressive" steps to make it difficult for Iran to sell drones and missiles to Russia, deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Tuesday, saying Washington had a number of tools to hold Moscow and Russia accountable.

Speaking at a daily press conference, Patel said the measure could include export sanctions and controls.

"We will continue to take practical and aggressive steps to complicate the sale of these weapons, including sanctions, export control measures against the entities involved," Patel said.

"Russia is deepening the alliance with Iran is something the whole world, especially in the region, should see as a major threat," he continued.

Ukraine has accused Russia of using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in attacks in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Tehran denied supplying Ruisa, with the Kremlin on Tuesday also denied using (the type of weapon).

As previously reported, Iran has promised Russia will supply them with surface ballistic missiles to the surface, in addition to adding a number of drones to Moscow.

The US State Department itself assessed that Iranian drones were used on Monday in a rush hour attack in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, a US official said. Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karinne Jean-Pierre accused Tehran of lying, when saying Iranian drones were not used by Russia in Ukraine.

The United States in September imposed sanctions on Iranian companies over allegations of coordinating military flights to transport Iranian drones to Russia, as well as three other companies said to be involved in Iran's drone production.

Better quality pictures of Iranian Shahed 136 attack drones. pic.twitter.com/1YAVfsX0bU

— Tal Inbar (@inbarspace) December 25, 2021