Iran condemns call for UN probe into alleged use of its drones in Ukraine
Reuters
Published Oct 22, 2022 07:17AM ET
(Reuters) -Iran on Saturday strongly condemned a call by France, Germany and Britain for the United Nations to probe accusations that Russia has used Iranian-origin drones to attack Ukraine, its foreign ministry said.
Tehran denies supplying drones to Moscow in the Ukraine war.
In a speech on Saturday, President Ebrahim Raisi struck a defiant tone on Iran's military sales in general, saying the country was now a popular prospective exporter of weapons.
He said during his recent travels overseas, including New York, where he attended the United Nations General Assembly, "people came up to me asking us to sell them military products. 'Why us?' I asked them, 'there are so many other countries … They said 'because yours are better'."
He did not specify the kind of weapons he was asked to sell or who had approached him.
This, he said, had angered Iran's enemies who "do not want us to grow ... to conquer markets".
"Let the enemy get angry and die of anger," Raisi said.
Nasser Kanaani, spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry said Friday's call by the so called E-3 group of countries was "false and baseless" and that it was "strongly rejected and condemned".
Ukraine says Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones that cruise towards their target and explode on impact.
"The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in its pursuit to protect its national interest and to secure the rights of the noble Iranian people, reserves the right to respond to any irresponsible action," the Iranian foreign ministry website quoted Kanaani as saying.
"It will not hesitate to defend the interests of the Iranian people," he said, without elaborating.
In a letter signed by their U.N. envoys and seen by Reuters, the three European countries backed Ukraine's call on Monday for a U.N. probe, arguing the drone use breached U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2231 endorsing the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.