John Kirby, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications, additionally claimed that there was clear proof that Iranian military personnel have been on the bottom in Crimea.
“We can confirm that Russian military personnel that are based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs, using them to conduct strikes across Ukraine, including strikes against Kyiv in just recent days,” Kirby informed reporters throughout a convention name right here on Thursday.
“We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations. Russia has received dozens of UAVs so far and will likely continue to receive additional shipments in the future,” he stated.
Furthermore, in mild of Russia’s ongoing provide shortages, he stated the US is worried that Russia may additionally search to amass superior typical weapons from Iran, akin to surface-to-surface missiles that can virtually definitely be used to help the warfare towards Ukraine.
“There’s extensive proof of their use by Russia against both military and civilian targets there. Yet both Iran and Russia continue to lie about it, denying that Iran is providing weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. Iran and Russia, they can lie to the world, but they certainly can’t hide the facts,” he informed reporters.
He additional alleged that Tehran is now straight engaged on the bottom and thru the availability of weapons which might be impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine which might be killing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
“So, let’s be very clear: The United States is going to pursue all means to expose, deter, and confront Iran’s provision of these munitions against the Ukrainian people. We’re going to continue to vigorously enforce all US sanctions on both the Russian and Iranian arms trade,” Kirby stated.
“We’re going to make it harder for Iran to sell these weapons to Russia. We’re going to help the Ukrainians have what they need to defend themselves against these threats. And we’re going to continue to stand with our partners throughout the Middle East region against the Iranian threat,” he stated.
Responding to a query, he stated that the Defence Department is wanting actively proper now at potential air defence options for the Ukrainians.
“DOD is well aware of the threat and is working hard to see what they can do to help the Ukrainians deal with the threat,” he stated.