US: Russia looking to Iran to supply more drones, missiles
Associated PressWASHINGTON — Struggling to maintain a steady supply of arms for its war in Ukraine, Moscow is looking to Iran once again to resupply the Russian military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles, according to two officials familiar with the matter. Separately, a U.N. diplomat said Iran has plans to sell Russia hundreds of missiles and drones in violation of the 2015 Security Council resolution that endorsed the nuclear deal between Tehran and six major powers. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday that worries that Russia would look to Iran to bolster its ballistic missile supply is “not a new concern.” “We don’t have any information to share at this point regarding current deliveries of ballistic missiles,” Price said. “But we know that Russia’s brutal assault against Ukraine has forced Russia to expend its relatively scarce quantities of weaponry, including ballistic missiles.” The White House has repeatedly sought to spotlight Russia’s reliance on Iran and North Korea, another broadly isolated nation on the international stage, for support as it prosecutes its war against Ukraine. In October, the White House accused Tehran of sending Iranian troops to Crimea to support Russian drone attacks on Ukraine’s power stations and other key infrastructure, The White House and British government said the relatively small number of Iranian personnel deployed to Crimea, a part of Ukraine unilaterally annexed by Russia in contravention of international law in 2014, were there to assist Russian troops in launching Iranian-made drones against Ukraine.