Supplying Shahed drones used in Russia's war on Ukraine, then praising them while denying wartime transfers
Western governments and Ukraine said Iran supplied Shahed kamikaze drones that Russia used against Ukrainian cities. In October 2022 Khamenei boasted that critics now call Iranian drones dangerous. Tehran later admitted pre-war shipments while denying wartime supply; Zelenskyy (@zelenskyyua) called that a lie.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Khamenei: they say Iranian drones are dangerous, why do you sell them - BBC Persian reported that on 19 October 2022 Khamenei said critics once called missile and drone photos photoshopped and now say Iranian drones are very dangerous and ask why they are sold. He did not openly confirm wartime transfers. سرنگونی بیش از ۲۲۰ پهپاد ایرانی در اوکراین؛ خامنهای: میگویند چرا پهپادها را میفروشید
- Iran admits pre-war drone shipments; Zelenskyy calls it a lie - Reuters and BBC News reported that Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said a small number of drones were sent months before Russia's invasion. Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@zelenskyyua) said Iran was lying even in that confession and that Ukrainian forces were downing about ten Iranian drones a day. Iran says it shipped drones to Russia before Ukraine war
- Khamenei denies Iran has any part in the Ukraine war - Al Jazeera reported that in a Mashhad speech Khamenei said the United States started the Ukraine war and rejected Western claims that Iran supplied drones to Russia, insisting Tehran had no participation in the conflict. Iran's Khamenei says US wants to keep Ukraine war going
- Zelenskyy urges Iranians to rethink support for Russia - Reuters reported that Zelenskyy (@zelenskyyua) said Iranian-made Shahed drones had played a major role in attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure and asked Iranians what interest they had in supporting terror. Ukraine's Zelenskiy to Iran: Why support Russia and terror?