Continued support for Russia in the form of drones and weapons could put Iran at risk of being seen as an enemy combatant in Ukraine, and stands to open up the nation to share responsibility for war crimes.
Benam Ben Talebul, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, told Fox News, “Missiles could be transferred from Iran to Ukraine, so the Islamic Republic must be seen as a combatant on Russia’s side in the Ukraine war. ‘ said. Digital. “Certainly, if Iranian heavily armed suicide drones are attacking Kyiv, there is no room for entertaining the fiction that Iran is only a passive partner in this conflict.”
Taleblu’s comments come after multiple reports last week that indicated Iran was increasing its support for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, including supplying suicide drones and surface-to-surface ballistic missiles to the Russian military. .
Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard have also reportedly traveled to Crimea to help train Russian troops on the use of Iranian-made weapons, marking a move to deepen military ties between the two countries.
Iran is now selling missiles to Russia, reportedly adding to its kamikaze drones
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed that fact on Thursday, saying, “Iran has been working with some trainers and some to help Russia use them more lethally. We have decided to transfer the technical support of
“The information we have is that the Iranians have deployed trainers and technical support in Crimea, but it’s the Russians who are doing the pilots,” Kirby told reporters. This is our assessment at this time.”
“The aggressive regimes of Tehran and Moscow are increasingly interdependent due to coercive foreign policy and international backlash against imperial ambitions,” said a senior fellow on Middle East affairs at the Heritage Foundation. James Phillips told Fox News Digital. “As a result, they are both facing severe sanctions and are working together to avoid them.”
Phillips said the two countries are also working together in Syria, with their militaries working together to keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power.
But Iran’s cooperation with Russia in Ukraine has become even more problematic for the country, with reports surfacing that Iranian-made “kamikaze drones” are being used to strike targets around Kyiv, including in civilian areas. It is possible that
The strike is the latest example of a war crime Russia has allegedly committed in Ukraine, and Iran is at least partially responsible for the crime if it uses Iran-provided equipment to carry out the strike. there is a possibility.
“If the Iranians are launching and controlling drones, or just maintaining them for the Russians, they should be considered combatants,” Phillips said. “At the very least, they are definitely complicit in Russia’s war crimes. Russia uses drones to target civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
Russia uses Iranian-made ‘Kamikaze drones’ to strike around Kyiv
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine cut Ukraine off from much of the international community and forced the Kremlin to ally with countries such as Iran and North Korea. Inconsistent results on the battlefield have complicated matters for Russian President Vladimir Putin. I was.
“Given that the Islamic Republic provides deadly military equipment to help Moscow kill Ukrainians, it would be logical to see Iran as a party to the Russo-Ukrainian war,” said the former DIA. “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” an intelligence officer told Fox News Digital. Putin is forming an international coalition of pariahs to help plug some holes in his arsenal of scarce conventional weapons. with attack missiles.”
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Koffler said Russia already sees the US and NATO as parties to the war, and that the US-led alliance is providing Ukraine with the deadly weapons it needs to maintain its defenses against aggression. But if the West admits Iran is a combatant in the war, the United States will be forced to reveal the true extent of the conflict.
“Once Washington admits that Iran and North Korea are de facto enemy combatants on the side of the Kremlin, everyone will realize the obvious – we are in a battle between East and West.” “And the battlefield is expanding beyond geographic boundaries into cyber, economic and other domains,” Koffler said.
Despite Iran’s participation in the war in Ukraine, the White House has continued efforts to rekindle the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal. . increasingly unlikely.
Iranian military members ‘may’ be training Russian forces to use ‘kamikaze’ drones in Ukraine: report
“The White House is still paranoid that a nuclear deal could be reached with Iran and Russia is a party to those negotiations,” Koffler said. The Obama 2.0 crew, who were pushing a stupid “reset” policy with Russia when Joe Biden was Vice President when they were making plans, is pretty much the same cast of characters. state. “
Instead, Koffler argued that President Biden should “establish a strong deterrent posture and develop a counter-strategy.”
Part of that counter-strategy typically involves Saudi Arabia, a longtime security partner whose relationship with the United States has soured under Biden’s leadership. That splintered relationship came to a head last week when his Saudi-led OPEC+ oil cartel chose to cut oil production despite White House pleas for it to ease the West’s energy crisis. reached.
The move was not welcomed in Washington, where Biden and several lawmakers accused the oil-rich kingdom of siding with Russia in its war with Ukraine. argued that it was purely for the economic benefit of OPEC+ member countries.
Nonetheless, Biden has warned of Saudi Arabia’s “consequences” and vowed to review US security ties with the country. .
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“The Biden administration has threatened to punish Saudi Arabia for siding with Russia on oil prices, but has turned a blind eye to Iran’s wider cooperation with Russia on oil prices, arms sales, Ukraine and Syria,” Phillips said. there is,” he said. “The administration should focus more on pushing back its opponents on security issues than punishing its problematic friends on political issues such as gas price hikes leading up to the midterm elections.”