According to the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky, in 2022, official Kyiv secretly appealed to Tehran and urged that Iran not provide weapons to Russia. The Iranian regime cynically assured Ukraine that this would not happen again.
Points of attention
- Zelenskyy's warnings to Iran underscore the high stakes involved in the conflict, as Ukraine strives to protect its people and infrastructure against external threats.
- The revelations of Iran's duplicity shed light on the complexities and dangers of dealing with multiple actors in the ongoing conflict, showcasing the urgent need for diplomatic strategies to safeguard Ukraine's interests.
Zelensky tried to stop cooperation between Iran and Russia
The Ukrainian leader recalled what the first night of the full-scale war was like. According to him, it started with missiles.
It was terrible, but we eventually found a way to intercept the missiles and protect people, the power grid, and other infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Iranian regime delivered the first batch of "Shaheeds" to Russia — a thousand drones. We contacted the Iranians at the intelligence level. We asked them not to supply weapons to Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
The head of state stated that Tehran received a clear warning from Kyiv: if their "shaheeds" kill peaceful Ukrainians, Iran will be considered an ally of Russia.
They replied: "No, no, we are not allies in this. We sold the Russians only one batch of "Shaheeds". It will be 1200 or 1300 drones, and that's it. There will be no more supplies." But they lied, Zelensky emphasized.
As the president noted, they not only gave them thousands of these drones — they transferred licenses to produce "shaheeds."
In fact, Iran helped Russia build two factories to produce these drones.
