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White House says Russia is asking Iran to send hundreds of drones


The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Iran next week as US officials warn of increased military cooperation between the two nations amid Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine.

President Biden’s national security adviser on Monday said Russia was looking for hundreds of surveillance drones from Iran, including those capable of firing missiles, for use in Ukraine.

Official Jake Sullivan said that it is unclear whether Iran has sent any remote control systems to Russia, but the US has information that Iran is preparing to train the Russian military to use them as soon as this month. .

“Our information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to supply Russia with several hundred UAVs, including those capable of carrying weapons in times of emergency,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House. ,” Mr. Sullivan told reporters at the White House.

The visit to Iran will be only Putin’s second international trip since he invaded Ukraine in February. Last month, he visited Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, two Central Asian countries where the Kremlin wants to maintain its influence as the country grows increasingly isolated economically and politically from the West.

Russia’s months-long bombardment of Ukraine has drained Russia of many precision-guided weapons, and Mr. Sullivan, in saying the war “is at the expense of maintaining its own weapons”, seems seems to suggest that the Kremlin has, or will soon, be short of armed surveillance drones.

The timing of Mr. Sullivan’s comment on what may have been classified as top-secret intelligence is also curious, mostly set aside at the end of Mr. Biden’s preview briefing. this week’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabiawhere Iran’s nuclear program and malign activities in the region will be the main topic of discussion.

Iran has provided drone and missile technology to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have attacked Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as to Shia fighters in Iraq, who who carried out drone attacks on US troops there.

But Mr. Sullivan’s comments about the imminent transfer of Iranian drones to Russia for use in Ukraine caught several senior US national security officials by surprise on Monday.

The Biden administration is trying to slow down Russian weapons production by rejecting components made with Western technology. Commerce Minister Gina M. Raimondo said last month that US and international controls have reduced exports of semiconductors and computer chips to Russia by 90%.



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