WASHIGTON-Russia and Iran’s relationship has warmed to a fully fledged defence partnership, the US has said.
Russia is giving an unprecedented level of military support, says US national security council spokesman John Kirby.
The US has seen reports that the two countries are considering joint production of lethal drones, he adds. It comes after Ukraine accused Iran of supplying Russia with “kamikaze” drones used in deadly attacks on 17 October, which Tehran initially denied. The Middle Eastern country later admitted sending Moscow a limited number of drones, “many months” before the war. In response, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said this was a lie and that many more Iranian drones were being used. The Ukrainian air force said it downed 10 of 15 such drones used to attack southern regions in the early hours of Saturday.
The governor of Odesa said the strikes caused power cuts in most of his region. Australia announced it is sanctioning three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying Russia with drones to use against Ukraine. Speaking on Friday, Mr Kirby said that a partnership between Iran and Russia to produce drones would be harmful to Ukraine.