NATO says concerned over Iran's "malicious activities" on its territory

"We call upon Iran to cease its military support to Russia, in particular its transfer of Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) which have been used to attack critical infrastructure, causing widespread civilian casualties," the 31-member alliance said in a final declaration at a summit in Lithuania, Iran International reported on July 11.

"We express our serious concern over Iran’s malicious activities within Allied territory," the declaration added.

With talks to review parts of the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal reportedly ongoing, the communique also called on Tehran to step back from activities banned by UN resolutions.

“We reiterate our clear determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon,” it said, adding that “we remain deeply concerned about Iran’s escalation of its nuclear programme.

Iran has supplied hundreds of kamikaze drones to Russia since mid-2022 that have been used against civilian and military targets since early October last year. NATO countries had to beef up Ukraine’s air defences partly because of the Iranian Shahed drones that are cheap and used in swarms by Russia to overwhelm air defences.

The latest such attack occurred in the early hours of July 11, when Russia launched 29 attack drones mostly against the capital Kyiv. Ukraine’s military said it shot down all the drones, but this resulted in precious anti-air missiles being used, which are needed against missiles and for military operations.