Iran refutes reports on joint construction of UAV plant with Russia

Iran is not planning to build a drone factory together with Russia, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kanani said.

Russian-based Kommersant newspaper reports that Kanani commented on the piece of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), according to which in January the Iranian delegation visited Russia, which had to assess the possibility of building a factory, capable of producing 6,000 drones. These UAVs will be used by Russia in military operations in Ukraine, the WSJ wrote.

Iran's Foreign Ministry called it "fake news". Kanani claims that Iran "does not take sides" in the conflict in Ukraine and has no plans to do so, and the Iranian authorities want a political solution to the conflict. "Unfortunately, countries that are major suppliers of weapons and equipment to one side of the conflict are trying to mislead global public opinion by spreading fake news," an Iranian MFA spokesman said.

Western countries have accused Iran of supplying weapons, including drones, to Russia. The Washington Post wrote that Moscow and Tehran agreed late last year to produce hundreds of UAVs on Russian soil.