Russia wants to deepen cooperation with Iran, while West wants to stop them with sanctions —  White House

The strategic communications coordinator of the National Security Council of the White House, John Kirby, said this at a briefing on Monday, reports European Pravda.

According to US estimates, Russia is seeking to acquire additional advanced attack drones from Iran to be deployed in the ongoing war in Ukraine. They had previously purchased 400 drones from Iran, which have already been utilized by Russian forces.

Pentagon spokesperson Kirby stated that Iran continues to unilaterally supply Russia with attack UAVs. Since August, Iran has supplied Russia with over 400 UAVs, primarily of the Shahed type. He further emphasized that by providing these drones to Russia, Iran is directly aiding Russia's aggressive actions in Ukraine.

As reported by Bloomberg, the United States plans to increase sanctions against both Iran and Russia to restrict the transfer of drones. Additionally, efforts will be made to assist governments and businesses in understanding how components of Iranian drones end up in their possession, as stated by a White House official.

Although Tehran officially acknowledged supplying Russia with a small batch of kamikaze drones prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the exact methods by which Moscow receives weapons from Iran have been repeatedly discussed in the media.

According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has already utilized over 400 Shahed-136 drones in Ukraine, with a reported total order of 2,400 such drones. While initially posing a challenge to Ukrainian air defenses, most of these drones have been destroyed in recent attacks.

• It is worth noting that Iran has boasted about how Shaheds have been "gamechangers" in the war in Ukraine.

• Russia intends to establish production of Iranian drones in Belarus.