Iran envoy slams Ukraine support to US, Gulf as ‘joke’; says Kyiv in ‘confrontation’ with Tehran
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A Ukrainian P1-Sun FPV interceptor, designed to take down the Iranian-style Shahed drones fired by Moscow at Ukraine on a near-daily basis.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Iran dismisses Ukraine's support to the US and Gulf allies in countering Iranian-designed drones, calling it a "joke and a showy gesture" after Ukraine sent drone experts to Gulf states.
- Iran denies involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of playing the "Iran card" to gain Western resources, following Kyiv's move to trade anti-drone expertise for air defence missiles.
- Despite heightened tensions and accusations, Iran claims not to take Ukraine's actions seriously and asserts that it possesses technologies to neutralise any threats.
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KYIV – Iran’s envoy to Ukraine, Mr Shahriar Amouzegar, dismissed the support Kyiv has offered to the United States and its Gulf allies, after Ukraine advertised its expertise in destroying Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia.
Iran has been attacking countries across the region – including with drones – in response to US and Israeli air strikes against Tehran that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“As for the actions Ukraine is taking in the Middle East against drones, we essentially consider them nothing more than a joke and a showy gesture,” Mr Amouzegar told AFP, in an exclusive interview.
AFP spoke to the charge d’affaires, Mr Amouzegar, at the Iranian embassy in Kyiv, a partly vacated house near the Ukrainian presidential administration.
Kyiv stripped the Iranian ambassador of his accreditation in 2022 and scaled down the mission in response to Tehran’s supply of Shahed drones to Russia.
But the embassy continues to operate despite Ukraine fighting off near-daily barrages of Iranian-designed drones launched by Russia, Tehran’s ally, throughout the four-year invasion.
Ukraine said it had sent seasoned drone experts to Gulf states, which are facing similar threats, a move condemned by Mr Amouzegar.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine has now effectively entered a stage of direct confrontation with us; that is, it has placed itself alongside our enemies,” he said.
He denied that Iran was involved in the Russian invasion, saying that it supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Kyiv, he said, had “played the ‘Iran card’ in order to obtain more resources from the West”.
‘Not afraid’
Kyiv has been seeking to trade anti-drone technologies and expertise for conventional air-defence missiles, which it urgently needs.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News radio that his country did not need Ukraine’s help in drone defence, apparently contradicting statements from Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky that the US had asked for help.
Kyiv said it had sent anti-drone experts who have begun working in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
“Ukraine’s presence in this war does not really have any real significance for us. We do not take it very seriously,” Mr Amouzegar said.
“We are absolutely not afraid of this recent action by the Ukrainian government. We have new technologies and innovations that will neutralise all these efforts,” he added.
On March 14, Iranian lawmaker Ibrahim Azizi said Ukraine now “has turned its entire territory into a legitimate target for Iran”, citing Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, specifying the right to self-defence.
In response, Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhyi said the claim was “absurd”.
He likened it to “hearing a serial killer justify his crimes by citing criminal code”. AFP
