Iran and Russia "are expanding their unprecedented military cooperation," a White House spokesman said Monday, citing Moscow's desire to acquire more sophisticated Iranian drones.
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We are using the tools at our disposal to expose and disrupt these activities and we stand ready to do more," said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council.
New sanctions "in the coming days"
He added that the United States would announce new sanctions "in the coming days" against entities or individuals involved in these transactions between the two countries.
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This is a comprehensive military partnership that is harmful for Ukraine, for the Middle East and for the international community," he said in an interview with reporters. "Contacts continue between Iran and Russia on the sale of more sophisticated weapons, especially more advanced drones," the spokesman said, estimating that Iran had delivered to Russia more than 400 drones, mainly Shahed type since August.
See alsoThe Shahed-136 drone, Iran's valuable support to Russia
The United States, on the other hand, has not "detected any movement" regarding the possible delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to the Russian army. In the other direction, that is, regarding military aid going from Russia to Iran, Washington assures that Tehran, in addition to Russian fighter jets, "seeks to buy other military equipment including attack helicopters, radars and the Yak-130 combat training aircraft," said John Kirby. "Iran seeks, in total, to acquire military equipment worth billions of dollars from Russia," he added.
The U.S. government intends to announce new measures soon "to help governments and companies better understand the risks posed by Iran's drone program and Iran's illegal practices to procure the necessary components," Kirby said.
The goal, he said, is to encourage the implementation of measures so that these same governments and companies do not "inadvertently" contribute to the manufacture of Iranian drones.