PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday to “immediately end” Tehran’s backing for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which includes providing Moscow with attack drones, according to the Elysee.
Macron emphasized the terrible “security and humanitarian consequences” of Iran’s drone deliveries in a phone call, “and urged Tehran to immediately end the support it thus gives to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” according to a statement.
The request came a day after White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Russia was receiving components from Iran to construct a drone factory on Russian soil that “could be fully operational early next year.”
The White House released a satellite image showing the proposed plant’s location in the Alabuga special economic zone, approximately 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of Moscow.
“The Russia-Iran military partnership appears to be deepening,” Kirby said in a statement based on US intelligence.
The US has claimed that Russia has obtained hundreds of Iranian attack drones in order to target Kyiv and “terrorize” Ukrainians, a claim that Tehran has disputed.
According to US data, the drones are produced in Iran, shipped across the Caspian Sea, and “then operationally used by Russian forces against Ukraine,” according to Kirby.
The White House said it would issue a new government guidance to help corporations and governments “avoid unintentionally contributing to Iran’s (drone) program.”
Source: AFP