On 18 October, the spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Kanaani, denied reports that suggest Iran provided attack drones to Russia to use in its conflict with Ukraine.

Kanaani called the news “fabricated” and said it “serves the interests of the west,” reiterating that Tehran has opposed the war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Ukraine.

He added that Iran hopes that the conflict in eastern Europe will come to an end with a political solution.

The official spokesman pointed out that it is a “bitter political irony” that the US and EU nations send billions of dollars to one side of the conflict, yet criticize and accuse others of sending weapons to the other side.

“If these countries support a political solution to this crisis, how can they justify sending weapons in such large quantities?” Kanaani asked.

Last week, several EU foreign ministers announced that they are set to discuss future sanctions on the Islamic Republic over the alleged drone deliveries to Russia.

Since early September, Iranian drones have been spotted in Ukraine. Moreover, dozens of Iranian cargo planes have landed in Russia since February, despite Iran’s official statements.

In response to this situation, Ukraine started to expel Iranian students from the country.

Several Iranian students claimed that Ukrainian immigration officials refused to renew their student visas due to Iran’s arms exports to Russia.

“The immigration officer behaved very angrily with us and told us our visa wouldn’t get extended because of the drones and the military officers your country sends to train Russians,” said Farid, an Iranian student.

In August, officials in the government of US President Joe Biden claimed that Russia possessed “weapons-capable Iranian drones.”

These allegedly include the Mohajer-6, which can carry four precision-guided missiles, and the Shahed series, which can also carry missiles and stay airborne for extended periods of time.