U.S. authorities suspect Russia of increasing purchases of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for use in the conflict in Ukraine. This is reported by The Times of Israel, citing an anonymous source in the U.S. National Security Council.

According to the newspaper, Washington is particularly concerned that Moscow might buy ground-to-ground missiles from Tehran. In turn, a UN diplomat suggested that the Islamic Republic intends to sell hundreds of missiles and drones to the Russian Federation to circumvent a 2015 Security Council resolution that approved a nuclear deal between Tehran and six other countries.

The UN believes that such a deal would allow defense cooperation between Russia and Iran to reach a new level. The diplomat noted that it is unlikely that weapons have already been exported, but they areclearly on the order books.

Tehran and Moscow have repeatedly denied accusations of Iranian drone deliveries to the Russian army. For example, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the West, accusing Iran of supplying weapons to Russia, was trying to legitimize arms supplies to Ukraine.